You might have heard the St. Louis Blues' double offer sheet for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway mentioned once or a million times during the past month. However, if you thought the page had now been turned on the whole chapter, then not so fast!
There's no denying fans are still in shock about losing both Broberg and Holloway, after the Edmonton Oilers front office declined to match either offer sheet tendered by the Blues. However, what about how the players feel regarding the whole situation?
Well, in the story that keeps on giving, we now have some inside information on how several of the Oilers reacted initially to the double offer sheet for Broberg and Holloway. Or do we? Let us explain.
Bad news for the Oilers while eating lunch
As per Michael Traikos of The Hockey News, Blues center Robert Thomas was eating lunch with three members of the Oilers, when news of the Blues' offer sheets was originally leaked. More specifically, the three Oilers in question were Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.
As per Traikos, Thomas spoke to the media in Las Vegas earlier this week about the incident, with him in town for the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour. He said: "It was pretty funny. I was with McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman. We were having lunch after training. I was sitting there eating, and I guess it popped up on one of their phones.
Thomas went on to explain the reaction of McDavid and company. He said: "Yeah, they weren't too happy about it. ... A couple of them were just looking at me like, 'What the hell is going on here?' I was so happy. You couldn't take the smile off my face for 20 minutes."
Oilers dispute Thomas' version of events
This is where things get interesting, with Draisaitl disputing Thomas' characterisation of how the scenario played out. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he said: "I think we’re all professional enough to understand. Connor and I weren’t sitting there, pouting like little babies. Let’s be real, here."
McDavid added to this, by saying the reaction of the Oilers players was more one of surprise, as opposed to being angry. So who are we to believe in all of this?
In reality, both scenarios are equally feasible. You can certainly imagine a situation where the Oilers players were surprised and unhappy. In respect of the latter, you could well imagine Draisaitl in particular being like this, given his reputation as a surly personality!
One other thing we would add though, is that perception is reality. In other words, Thomas could have easily misinterpreted the reaction of McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman.
Ultimately though, how the trio of Oilers reacted initially is of no consequence, as it still had no bearing on how the whole situation played out. At the end of the day, both Broberg and Holloway are gone, and the team is slightly worse off for not having either player still around.