Flames expected to offer Holloway or Broberg to Oilers – The Hockey Writers – Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are in polar opposite positions, as two NHL teams can be. The Flames are in the early stages of a restructuring, or what many consider a complete rebuild, while the Oilers are coming off a Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final and will be just as competitive this season.

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As is often the case between rebuilding teams and contenders, they also find themselves in opposite situations in terms of salary cap space. The Flames have more than $21 million in cap space, while the Oilers are $2.45 million above the cap. They will have to trade at least one player from their roster before the 2024-25 season begins to be cap-compliant, but that’s not where their problems end.

The Oilers also have two key players waiting to be drafted in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Both were first-round picks and have a lot of potential. Even if the Oilers find a way to move their salaries, the best they can do is sign them to make the transition. If another team were to sign a player with a more lucrative offer, the Oilers likely wouldn’t be able to match it. That’s the route the Flames should take. Either player would be a good option, but here’s a look at what they both offer.

Dylan Holloway

The Oilers selected Holloway with the 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft and have been patient with him given their extremely talented roster. The 22-year-old is most comfortable playing left wing, but he has proven capable of playing on the right side as well.

In 89 regular-season games, Holloway had nine goals and 18 points. Those numbers may not sound like much, but they mostly came as a fourth-line player. This year’s playoffs, however, showed what Holloway can do when he plays in a top-six role. He spent many postseason games on a line with Leon Draisaitl, and he delivered. The speedy winger had five goals in 25 games and created chances left and right with his elite skating and high-end skills. Based on those performances, combined with his solid numbers in the American Hockey League (AHL), he should be able to become a regular 50-point or more producer in the NHL.

While the Flames have several intriguing prospects in their ranks, few are likely to be as good as Holloway in the years to come. “Potential” is never a certainty, of course, but with all the cap space available to general manager Craig Conroy, taking a chance on the Calgary-born forward is well worth the potential risk.

Holloway is probably worth close to $2 million per year, but the Flames have enough cap space to easily increase that number to $3 million. That would make it much harder for the Oilers to do so, and if they don’t, the Flames would only have to part with a second-round pick in 2025.

Philippe Broberg

While some were starting to believe Broberg was going to be a draft bust, he proved his critics wrong during the Oilers’ playoff run. The eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft took some time to develop, but he seems to have truly arrived. In fact, many scouts have recently revealed that they believe he will be a top-tier defenceman in the coming seasons.

Broberg sat out the first two rounds of the playoffs, but was called up for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars. He was more than ready and dressed for all nine games from that point on, while logging solid minutes throughout.

Like Holloway, Broberg’s best asset is his skating, though it’s far from his only strength. It’s become clear throughout his playoff run that he’s an excellent puck-buster, thanks to his strong offensive instincts. The biggest concern about him so far has been his defensive game, though he’s made strides in that area recently. He’s far from a physical presence, but he has excellent body positioning that allows him to get into opposing offense’s lanes and often allows him to break up plays and clear the zone with relative ease.

Despite the presence of promising young prospects on the blue line, such as Hunter Brzustewicz, Zayne Parekh, Jeremie Poirier and Artem Grushnikov, Broberg is currently the closest player to being a sure thing in the NHL. There is no bad option for the Flames in this scenario. If they prefer to add a player up front, Holloway is worth considering, but if it is simply a matter of wanting a player with more upside, it is hard to pass up Broberg.

If the Flames agree to sign Broberg at a price of around $4 million per season, they would only have to part with a 2025 second-round pick, similar to Holloway. That would be a contract that would be nearly impossible for the Oilers to match and would be a steal on the Flames’ part.

Oilers Rivalry

In today’s NHL, it’s rare to see player offers. Some even think it’s an unwise option, as it can destroy a relationship with another team’s management. That said, given the fierce rivalry between the Flames and Oilers, they rarely trade together, meaning a broken relationship isn’t the end of the world.

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The Flames want to be a better team and have done a good job of stockpiling prospects and draft picks to help in the upcoming seasons. While that is all well and good, none of them are certainties. Some would say Holloway and Broberg aren’t either, but they are much closer. It would be wise for the Flames to consider extending an offer to one of them this summer.