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In the end, the Edmonton Oilers’ decision not to match the offer sheets defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway received from the St. Louis Blues on Aug. 13 was much more about the future than the present.

Sure, Broberg, 23, and Holloway, 22, could have been a part of the Oilers’ success going forward, as they were in helping them reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers last season before falling one win short of their first championship since 1990. But the Oilers’ difficult choice to let the two restricted free agents join the Blues focused on a bigger picture in which they need to fit Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and, eventually, Connor McDavid into their long-term salary cap structure while also leaving the short-term flexibility to maneuver under its confines and make another run at the Cup this season.

That included having space to keep Evander Kane and his $5.125 million salary cap hit off long-term injured reserve while it’s determined whether he’ll require sports hernia surgery.

If Edmonton had matched the contracts St. Louis offered Broberg (two years, $9.16 million; $4.58 million average annual value) and Holloway (two years, $4.58 million; $2.9 million AAV), it would have been a challenging situation. However, when their decision-making week ended on Tuesday, the Oilers chose to accept the compensation from the Blues, which included a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for Broberg and a third-round pick in the same draft for Holloway, and proceeded forward.

“The players are not at all implicated,” said Oilers general manager Stan Bowman. “I want to emphasize this. I had no issues with the players whatsoever. This was simply a business decision, considering both our immediate and long-term sustainability with the salary cap.”

After Bowman took over the role of Oilers’ GM from Ken Holland on July 24, his first significant challenge was the twin offer sheets. Holland’s five-year contract had ended on July 1. The Oilers’ decisions on Broberg and Holloway will be judged in time, with inevitable debates on whether they could have taken any different steps prior to August 13 to prevent this situation.

Moving forward, there are more significant priorities, starting with Draisaitl. He is heading into his last season of an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million AAV) and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. Bowman confirmed that he has initiated preliminary talks with the 28-year-old forward’s agent, Mike Luit, but withheld specific details.

“He advised not to interpret that in a negative way. “We’ve started the process but I don’t want to set any timelines or anything,” he explained. “If there’s an update, we’ll definitely share it with everyone.”

Apart from McDavid, Draisaitl is the most significant player for the Oilers. He ranked seventh in the NHL last season with 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) in 81 regular-season games and third in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 25 games. Despite the anticipated salary cap increase from $88 million this season, a combined AAV of $7.48 million for Broberg and Holloway in 2025-26 could have posed restrictions, especially with Bouchard entering the last season of a two-year, $7.8 million contract ($3.9 million AAV). The 24-year-old defenseman will be eligible to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1 next year.

The day McDavid becomes eligible to sign a new contract with Edmonton also falls on that day. The 27-year-old captain of the Oilers has two seasons remaining on his eight-year, $100-million contract, with an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $12.5 million. If he does not sign a new deal before his current contract expires, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

The Oilers had to consider what to do about the offer sheets to Broberg and Holloway, with all of that hanging over their heads.

Bowman stated, “The alternative scenarios of matching both or either one of them would have drastically altered our position regarding the salary cap for this current season, not to mention future years. That’s why we made the decision we did.”

Bowman emphasized the necessity of not placing Kane on long-term injured reserve. While it’s unclear if the 33-year-old forward will miss any games, Edmonton anticipates his return within the season, even if he requires surgery and a prolonged recovery period. Therefore, maintaining enough salary cap space to include him on the active roster is essential.

If Kane isn’t put on LTI and the Oilers have some remaining salary cap space, they will gain more space as the season continues. This will provide them the opportunity to enhance their lineup before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline by adding more players, preparing them for the playoffs.

Bowman explained, “When a player recovers from a long-term injury that had lasted for several months and is then activated, you begin with no cap space and aim to build it up. However, it’s not feasible to accomplish this in just a month or so. These were all considerations in our decision-making process.”

Once the decision was made not to match the offer sheets, the Oilers made three trades for younger players. They acquired forward Vasily Podkolzin, 23, from the Vancouver Canucks (for a fourth-round pick in 2025) and defenseman Ty Emberson, 24, from the San Jose Sharks (for defenseman Cody Ceci and a third-round pick in 2025) on Sunday and defenseman prospect Paul Fischer, 19, plus a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft from the Blues (for future considerations) on Monday.

The relocation of Ceci, who is in the final season of his four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 AAV), has generated extra salary cap for this season. This move, however, leaves Edmonton without three of its leading seven defensemen from the previous season, as Broberg and Vincent Desharnais (now signed with Vancouver) have also left.

The Oilers will try to get by — at least to begin the season — with what they have, including Emberson and Josh Brown, who was signed to a three-year, $3 million contract ($1 million AAV) on July 1.

Bowman stated, “Our group has changed and we’re optimistic that some of our defensemen can step up and take on bigger roles. However, this situation also potentially provides us with the chance to accumulate some cap space and be competitive. If necessary and we decide to add to our team, this scenario could make that opportunity possible.”