In back-to-back years, the Florida Panthers have defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. Last time, it took all seven games after an unbelievable comeback by the Oilers from a three-game hole, but this year it only took six games--and by the end, it wasn't even close. The Oilers had few answers to the Panthers' defense, and Edmonton's own blue line corps was unable to contain Florida's relentless forward depth. Perhaps the Oilers would've benefited from a pair of young players named Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
We all know the story: St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong saw an opportunity last summer to make the Blues younger and more talented, so he offer-sheeted Broberg and Holloway to try and peel them away from Edmonton. However, the Blues would not have been able to accomplish that had newly-minted Oilers GM Stan Bowman not handcuffed himself with questionable signings of his own.
Bowman went on quite a spending spree on July 1, 2024--the first day of NHL free agency. That day, he re-signed Corey Perry and Adam Henrique, then added Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Those four contracts totaled $11.15 million AAV against the Oilers' cap. Perry and Skinner signed 1-year deals, while Arvidsson and Henrique were given 2-year contracts with full no-move clauses, which will account for $7-million AAV on the Oilers' books in 2025-26 while they try to extend Evan Bouchard and fill out the rest of the roster when Leon Draisaitl's big-money extension kicks in.
Broberg and Holloway, meanwhile, account for a shade under $7 million AAV against the Blues' cap. In 77 regular-season games, Holloway registered 63 points and Broberg had 29 points in 68 games--a total of 92 points between them. All four Oilers signings--Perry, Henrique, Skinner, and Arvidsson--combined for 113 points, and Arvidsson and Skinner sometimes found themselves healthy scratches. All four of them are over 30 years old, and Perry just turned 40. The Oilers got older and worse by letting Broberg and Holloway go.
We're not saying that the outcome of the Cup Final would've been different had Broberg and Holloway still been on the Oilers--the Panthers are a really good team--but considering how mediocre their replacements were (and at a premium, to boot), you have to wonder if Edmonton could've put up a bit more of a fight. The Oilers lost two young players because they took them for granted, and they wound up a worse team for it. The Blues certainly knew what they were doing by targeting those two.