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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
With the collective futures of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway in question, it appears the Edmonton Oilers may have found at least one solution Sunday when they acquired forward Vasily Podkolzin in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Oilers received the 23-year-old Podkolzin, the No. 10 pick in 2019, in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Ottawa Senators acquired in a previous trade.
An already salary cap-strapped Oilers were faced with another challenge last Tuesday when the St. Louis Blues used an aggressively strategic tactic by signing Broberg and Holloway to a pair of offer sheets knowing the Oilers might realistically part with at least one, if not, both players.
The Oilers have until Tuesday to match the terms of the offer sheets, per section 10.3 of the NHL collective bargaining agreement.
Broberg, a defenseman, received a two-year contract worth $4.58 million annually while Holloway, a forward, was given a two-year deal worth $2.29 million annually. Should the Oilers decline their right of first refusal, the Blues must give the Oilers a second-round pick for Broberg and a third-round pick for Holloway.
Prior to the offer sheets, the Oilers were more than $350,000 over the cap after having an aggressive offseason. Less than two weeks after they lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, the Oilers added forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner while signing defenseman Josh Brown. They also brought back forwards Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry in addition to defenseman Troy Stetcher.
But with the Blues’ offer sheets, it left the Oilers trying to figure out how they would be able to afford at least one, if not, both players whereas the Blues have more than $7 million in cap space by comparison.
Although Podkolzin hasn’t quite hit the heights expected of the No. 10 pick, he would provide the Oilers with a young player on a team-friendly contract as he will earn $1 million annually over the next two years. He had two points in 19 games with the Canucks last season while scoring 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games with their AHL affiliate.
For his career, Podkolzin has 18 goals and 35 points in 137 games.