Set to face Oilers, offer-sheet acquisitions Broberg, Holloway playing key roles for struggling Blues
The aggressive moves by the St. Louis Blues to sign forward Dylan Holloway and defenceman Philip Broberg continue to pay off, with both players playing key roles for the club.
St. Louis signed both players to two-year contracts in the summer of 2024 as restricted free agents from the Edmonton Oilers, giving up a second- and third-round draft pick in the 2025 draft as compensation.
The two players were top prospects for the Oilers, with Broberg selected eighth overall in the 2019 draft and Holloway taken 14th overall a year later. But both players had trouble finding their footing in the organization.
In St. Louis, Holloway and Broberg have blossomed into everyday players in the NHL and helped the Blues claim the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference last season with a 44-30-8 record.
“They’re rink rats,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters last season. “They watch video. They’re locked in. Practice, they’re dialled in. When it’s their turn to go, they’re going as hard as they can. And then in games it’s just how well they compete and the athletic ability.”
Holloway had an offensive explosion in his first season in St. Louis, recording 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games. However, he sustained an oblique injury right at the end of the regular season and underwent abdomen surgery, forcing him to miss the playoffs.
Broberg registered eight goals and 29 points in 68 games last season while averaging 20:30 of ice time. He then added a goal and two points in seven playoff games while averaging 22:07 of ice time as the Blues were eliminated by the Winnipeg Jets in seven games.
While the Blues have struggled out of the gate early in the 2025-26 season with a 3-7-2 record, Holloway and Broberg’s impact have continued to increase.
Entering Monday’s action, Holloway leads all Blues forwards, averaging 19:23 of ice time, despite playing on the team’s third line, and has two goals and six points through 12 games.
Broberg continues to play big minutes on the team’s top pairing with Colton Parayko, and has a goal and two points while averaging 22:07 of ice time.
Monday’s game marks the fourth meeting between the Blues and Oilers since Broberg and Holloway joined the Blues, with St. Louis losing the season series last year 0-2-1.
Holloway recorded a goal and an assist in two appearances against Edmonton last season while Broberg had more than 20 minutes of ice time in all three games.
Despite the benefit of time since the move, Holloway still showed some hurt feelings prior to the season over the way he was treated during his restricted free agency.
“It rubbed me the wrong how little Edmonton though of me in our contract negotiations,” Holloway told Andy Strickland and Cam Janssen on the Cam and Strick Podcast in September. “I’m an Alberta boy; I wanted to go back to a team we went so far with. But as soon as Edmonton didn’t reciprocate that feeling, I was all in on St. Louis.”
