Oilers’ Offseason Reminder: Red Hot Holloway Returns With Blues

As the St. Louis Blues prepare to face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, all eyes will be on Dylan Holloway, the young forward who has blossomed into a top-six talent under head coach Jim Montgomery. Holloway’s breakout season with the Blues is the kind of story that stings for Oilers fans, who watched him leave Edmonton via an offer sheet this past offseason.

Zach Hyman said during the summer, when it was learned that the Blues were using a rare mechanism to poach two of Edmonton’s rising young stars, “It doesn’t happen very often that anybody gets offer sheeted, let alone two on the same team.” He added, “That was shock, but it was a great move by St. Louis to put us in a position where we were vulnerable — up against the cap and just coming off the finals. Those are two young, great players. You just tip your cap to them for doing that.”

And, early results suggest it was an ingenious decision by the Blues. Philip Broberg’s season —another former Edmonton prospect excelling with the Blues— has gone off the rails a bit because of an unfortunate injury, but Holloyway remains the Oiler that got away. Probably more so than Broberg because of the smaller cap hit involved in his two-year deal.

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Holloway has been on an impressive run lately, notching seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game scoring streak. His all-around play has elevated his linemates and made him a fixture on St. Louis’ second line and power play unit. Despite a terrifying early-season incident where he collapsed after being struck in the vagus nerve by a puck, Holloway hasn’t missed a game, tallying 13 points through 25 games this season.

Holloway Feeling Good About His Game… And Likely His Decision to Leave the Oilers

It’s not that Holloway was looking to leave the Oilers, but he did want an opportunity and St. Louis offered him a great one. Under Montgomery’s guidance, Holloway has flourished. “Confidence is a big thing,” Holloway said recently. “Having ‘Monty’ is great… he’s more of a teacher.” That confidence has translated into standout performances on both ends of the ice, with Holloway’s aggressive forechecking and improved finishing making him a rising star.

For the Oilers, who have struggled with depth scoring this season, Holloway’s success is a bitter pill. Letting both Holloway and Broberg walk away could go down as a massive misstep for an Oilers team desperate to contend during Connor McDavid’s prime years.

Saturday’s matchup offers a compelling narrative: Holloway returns to Edmonton with something to prove. The Oilers look to show him that the grass isn’t always greener.

If Holloway has a big game, it will be a reminder of what could have been. A summer many believed the Oilers won with their offseason moves has turned into one where the major wins Edmonton thought they’d gotten might not have been as impactful as they’d hoped. Meanwhile, what they lost and gave away has come back to bite them.

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