Dylan Holloway saw chance at greater opportunity with St. Louis Blues

ST. LOUIS -- Dylan Holloway is no fool.

The 22-year-old, soon-to-be 23-year-old forward and new member of the St. Louis Blues, after the Edmonton Oilers declined to match the offer sheets to Holloway (two years, $4.58 million; $2.29 million average annual value) and defenseman Philip Broberg (two years, $9.16 million; $4.58 million AAV), knew the only way for the 14th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft's career to progress likely would be a change of scenery.

There's no ill will towards the Oilers, who were in Holloway's words "two goals away" from winning the Stanley Cup, but it's the fact that there are too many talented players for him to try and supplant. That's the problem.

"Yeah, for sure. I definitely feel I’m going to get more opportunity here in St. Louis," Holloway said on Tuesday via Zoom. "Edmonton has some pretty good star power up front, so it’s going to be near impossible to move those guys out of their spots.

"I think for me, I’d say it’s a bittersweet pill to swallow just because you’re going to miss all the guys. I had some good relationships with the guys up there, but at the same time I’m excited for the opportunity, I’m excited to be part of this young group of guys in St. Louis and excited for the opportunity."

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Good luck trying to move out Connor McDavid. Good luck trying to move out Leon Draisaitl. Good luck trying to brush aside Zach Hyman. Try moving out Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Evander Kane, and now the Oilers have brought in Victor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

The writing was on the wall for Holloway, a young, up-and-coming player who was coming into his own -- like Broberg -- during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, particularly in the Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

So Holloway, who had five goals and seven points in the playoffs after nine points (six goals, three assists) in 38 regular-season games, ventured into uncharted territory in the offer sheet world of the NHL and found a good fit with St. Louis.

"Yeah, I mean definitely kind of an emotional roller coaster," Holloway said. "That week was just kind of crazy, don’t know where you’re going to end up. It’s definitely different. I’m really excited to join the Blues. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the organization, about the group of guys. I think it’ll be a great opportunity for myself. While saying that, I have nothing against Edmonton, either. It was a great time there, too. I’m going to miss the guys but excited about this opportunity for sure."

Sure, Holloway will be making a lot more money after coming off a $925,000 cap hit ($1.442 million AAV) on an entry-level contract signed in 2021. Sure, Oilers fans will cite greed. Why would a 22-year-old leave a Cup-contending team for one that hasn't made the playoffs the past two seasons and is retooling its roster?

"There’s so much more that goes into it than people think," Holloway said. "People just think you look at the numbers and it’s like, ‘OK I’m going to take the better number’ or whatever. For myself, we were trying to get a number with Edmonton and we were just pretty far off in our negotiations, I’d say. With St. Louis, too, I was able to talk to Doug Armstrong before I signed it and he gave me a vision of where St. Louis is going as a team. Just how they have such a good young core group and their goals for the next couple of years. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the offer sheet. You sign it, it could get matched, it could get not. But I figured either way, it’d be a good option for me. I’m excited that I have an opportunity to play for the Blues now."

By no means does this indicate Holloway will plug into a top six role with the Blues. He'll have to earn his keep, for sure. But with the Blues, there will be opportunity to more than likely begin as a top nine and work his way up should the play dictate it. And take into consideration that Holloway is part of a group of first-round picks (12) under 25 all on one roster.

"I like where his head was at," Holloway said of Armstrong. "He was talking about how he wants to build a young core group of guys that kind of build up together. I think now we have 10 first-round picks under the age of 25 or something. That was his goal was to accumulate first-round picks. So with the young core group of guys we have here, I think in the next couple of years we could be a very, very good team and it’s exciting to think about."

Take into account that Holloway had a strong playoff for the Oilers, and the Blues could be the start of player trending in the right direction.

"I think it’ll help for sure. I mean, that playoff experience was incredible," Holloway said. "We went on such a good run and were two shots away from winning the Stanley Cup. It was hard, the way it ended but we were very proud of ourselves for what we accomplished in that playoff run.

"For me as a player it allowed me to grow and kind of just gain a lot more confidence. Playing in those big games at some crucial times, trying to produce here and there, it’s definitely big for the confidence and I’m just trying to build off that starting next year."

Related: Doug Armstrong: 'Quite honestly, I'd do it to my mother if she was managing the Oilers'

Related: Philip Broberg looking forward to new challenge with St. Louis Blues

Related: St. Louis Blues add Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway after Edmonton Oilers decline to match offer sheets