Blue GM scoffs at unwritten rule among NHL GMs about offer sheets

They say all's fair in love and war, which is an apt saying when it comes to St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. In particular, about his seemingly controversial decision to tender offers sheets to the (now former) Oilers duo of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.

As we wrote on Sunday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman claimed there was no way Armstrong would have tendered the double offer sheets, if Ken Holland was still the Oilers' general manager. Speaking with Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, Friedman said this was due to the close friendship between Armstrong and Holland.

However, Armstrong has now come out to deny this would have been the case, even bringing his own family into the discussion. As per Lou Korac of NHL.com, the Blues general manager said: "This is a tool that I think everyone uses and should use. I think it was reported that I wouldn't have done this to Kenny Holland. That's the furthest thing from the truth. Quite honestly, I'd do it to my mother if she was managing the Oilers."

Armstrong scoffs at unwritten rule among NHL GMs

Further, the 59-year-old also played down the apparent unwritten rule among NHL general managers, about tendering offers sheets to other teams' players, which alludes to why so few ever happen. However, as per Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he said: "That code that I have been hearing about, it’s not true. Managers do what they have to do for their franchises. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be doing their job."

Certainly Armstrong does speak a lot of sense, but you do have to at least wonder how things would have played out if Holland was still general manager of the Oilers? Would Armstrong have at least had a conversation with his friend first, to let him know what he was going to do, or would even that have not been likely given it could have potentially taken away a competitive advantage for the Blues?

What we do know, is that Armstrong has had his eyes on Broberg and Holloway for quite a while, dating back to March last year. The Oilers had spoken to the Blues about a potential trade for forward Pavel Buchnevich, which would have seen St. Louis receive the duo in return, but it ultimately came to nothing.

Broberg or Holloway?

Regardless, from the Oilers' perspective it was assumed they would at least match one of the two offer sheets. Particularly after trading Cody Ceci on Sunday, to remove his $3.25 million salary from the 2024-25 salary cap.

We had initially predicted that it would be Broberg who would be allowed to leave. This was due to the combination of his offer sheet being double Holloway's, combined with Friedman reporting his apparent strained relationship with the Oilers organisation.

However, after the Oilers completed a trade with the Canucks for forward Vasily Podkolzin, there was some consideration this alluded to Holloway being the one allowed to walk, particularly with Broberg having the higher ceiling. Ultimately though, none of it really matters now, because what is done is done.

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