Edmonton Oilers
Oilers Respond to Blues’ Offer Sheets with Savvy Trades
The Edmonton Oilers have responded to the two offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues’ by making saavy trades that give the team choices.
The Edmonton Oilers made a series of moves on Sunday that have given the team a few more options regarding the offer sheets tendered to Philip Broberg and Dylan Hollway. Unclear how Edmonton was going to match one or both offer sheets, and with only one day remaining to make a decision, the Oilers traded for Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks. Then they moved Cody Ceci in a second trade to the San Jose Sharks.
In both deals, the Oilers did surprisingly well.
Edmonton only moved a fourth-round pick in 2025 to land Podkolzin, a potential top-six forward who has underwhelmed in his appearances with the Canucks and even in the AHL. He ran out of runway with the Canucks organization, but some believe there was leverage the team could have used knowing the Oilers were in a bind. So too, rumors that Ceci could be moved, but it would take a first or second-round pick to do so led to surprised reactions when Edmonton shed his full contract and only dumped a third-rounder in 2025 to the Sharks. And, the Oilers got back defenseman Ty Emberson.
What Do These Moves Mean for the Oilers?
In the case of Podkolzin, he appears to be a potential replacement for Holloway. That said, because of the Ceci trade, the team could match both offer sheets if the Oilers were to place Evander Kane on LTIR to start the season and then demote another player worth around $800K.
Essentially, what this does is put Edmonton back in control. Mark Spector of Sportsnet writes:
The fact they’ve shuffled the cards well enough and fast enough to be in the driver’s seat this morning is amazing, considering what this scenario felt like last Tuesday, when Armstrong strong-armed the new Oilers GM with a double-barrel offer sheet for Edmonton’s youngest regulars on both defence and forward.
And, the fact the Oilers added a 23-year-old prospect with potential like Podkolzin is fascinating. He may not make the team and a fresh start may not spark him like the Oilers are likely hoping, but he’s another player to compete for a job in camp.
Losing Ceci shouldn’t be ignored. This is a player who served the Oilers well and despite his polarizing place in Oilers Nation forums, that he’s being shipped out when he played his role and got extremely close to the Stanley Cup is unfortunate. Losing him does sting and there’s no guarantee Broberg will be better than Ceci this season if the Oilers choose to match and keep the former.
Oilers’ Offer Sheet Decision Imminent
In less than 24 hours, the Oilers will make their decision on the two offer sheets coming from the Blues. If Edmonton matches both, they did some fine work to get into a position to do so. If they choose to let one or both walk, their trades made it so they had the choice, and their hand wasn’t forced.
The clock was ticking and new GM Stan Bowman and CEO Jeff Jackson appear to have walked away from this relatively unscathed. How the new contracts for Broberg and Holloway after future contracts with other players has yet to be determined.
Next: Oilers Trade Cody Ceci and a 3rd to San Jose Sharks for Emberson
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