Oilers must be careful as Canadiens linked to Dylan Holloway

The Edmonton Oilers still have the not so small situation of attempting to get back into their series versus the Florida Panthers, and attempt to bring home the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990. However, regardless of how it all plays out, the organisation still faces a challenging offseason.

The Oilers have 10 unrestricted and two restricted pending free agents to consider in the coming weeks. And with just $10,033,333 of projected cap space for next season (as per Cap Friendly), it's not exactly a situation other teams will envy.

It also won't help that the vultures will be circling, looking to take advantage of the Oilers' precarious financial situation. Along these lines, one potential target for other teams is pending free agent Dylan Holloway.

Holloway to the Canadiens?

In fact, Lue LeBlanc of The Hockey Writers believes the Montreal Canadiens should make a play for Holloway. LeBlanc views him as another young player who needs a change of scenery by joining the Habs, a la Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook.

Along these lines, Holloway had a decent enough rookie season for the Oilers, but many believe he failed to build on this during the 2023-24 regular season. In fairness though he wasn't helped by suffering a knee injury, which kept him out of action for a couple of months.

The 2020 14th overall draft pick spent different points of the campaign in Bakersfield, where he produced 16 points and a +7 rating in 18 games for the Condors. Interestingly with the Oilers, while his regular season was underwhelming as a whole, he did manage five points in his final six games.

Clearly something must have convinced Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch to keep faith with Holloway. He's been an ever-present during the playoffs, appearing in all 22 of their games, chipping in with seven points and registering a +3 rating which is tied sixth-best on the team.

Perhaps the best example of what the 22-year-old is truly capable of, came in the most recent game versus the Panthers. In arguably the best game of his young NHL career he had three points -- including two goals -- in the Oilers' 8-1 rout, and was awarded the Second Star.

Can Holloway live up to his potential more consistently?

Of course it's one thing to do this every now and then. However, it's about Holloway performing at a similar level on a more consistent basis and living up to his billing as a physical top-six, two way player for the Oilers.

In terms of the financial aspect, Holloway is about to complete a three-year deal with an annual value of $925,000. As a restricted free agent, the Oilers would certainly consider him good value for the standard 105 percent increase he is entitled to.

However, an issue develops if the Calgary native decides to reject the Oilers' qualifying offer. (The organisation will not withhold an offer and let him become an unrestricted free agent.) In that scenario he would be allowed to negotiate offer sheets with other teams, which is where the Canadiens can come in.

If the Canadiens then make an offer, it will be up to the Oilers to determine if they match said offer. Or if not, claim the relevant draft picks as compensation and move on in another direction.

From the Oilers' perspective, it's tough to imagine them not matching an offer from the Canadiens - or whoever. Even if it works out as more expensive than the qualifying offer Holloway will be entitled to, he's still going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than some of the other Oilers' pending free agents, and a darn sight younger.

Overall, we appreciate and understand LeBlanc's line of thinking; as per the SAS quote, he who dares win. Ultimately though, Holloway has too much upside for the Oilers to give up on him just yet, as they aim to remain a genuine contender moving forward for the foreseeable future no matter how this year's Stanley Cup Final pans out.

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