Well, the Edmonton Oilers have certainly found themselves in quite the pickle haven't they? And offseason ride which had been going ever so smoothly, has now hit its bumpy patch.
First, there was the decision to hire Stan Bowman as general manager and president of hockey operations. To say the decision was considering polarising would be an understatement, given the controversy which ended his time with the Chicago Blackhawks organisation.
As a result of the Bowman hiring, all the goodwill Jeff Jackson and company had built up with an excellent free agency, was seemingly eradicated. Look no further than the recent NHL front-office confidence rankings survey completed by The Athletic, which had the Oilers ranked 25th overall.
Now, if you believe in karma, the Oilers have been made to 'pay' for the Bowman hiring, courtesy of the St. Louis Blues. Their double offer sheet for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, has made the Oilers' precarious salary cap situation even worse.
We have already outlined a way for the Oilers to get this situation resolved in such a way to be able to keep both Broberg and Holloway, but it's certainly not a straightforward/guaranteed resolution. Regardless of how it all plays out though, there's a lot of frustration within the fan base.
Did Ken Holland really screw this up?
This frustration has resulted in Oilers supporters looking for potential relevant figures to blame, including Bowman's predecessor, Ken Holland. And now it seems, fans have been given some 'ammo' to be able to firmly point the finger at their former general manager.
As per Cam Lewis of Oilers Nation, Bob Stauffer provided some intriguing insight during Tuesday's edition of his Oilers Now show. He said: "Sometimes you have to be ahead of the curve. I can 100 per cent guarantee you that upper management, Ken Holland, the general manager at that time, as far back as December and January, was instructed — instructed at the top levels of the Oilers organisation — to get Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg signed to contract extensions, especially in the month of January when both players were in the minors."
Now yes, we can appreciate that for a lot of people, the instant reaction would be to have frustration and maybe even some anger towards Holland. However, we have to state that it's a little bit too convenient to put all of the blame on the 68-year-old.
With Holland no longer a part of the organisation, maybe the thinking is to have some of the frustration channelled towards someone whose not in the picture anymore. However, you also have to consider just how different the picture was back in December and January.
Called a draft bust earlier this season
Starting with Broberg, he had done little to justify his status as an eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft. For this season in particular, he'd only played 10 games for the Oilers, producing zero points and a -2 rating.
As a result, the blue liner had been sent to the AHL in Bakersfield and was being labelled a draft bust. Further, his agent had apparently requested permission to seek a trade on behalf of his client.
The point being, did this really sound like someone primed to accept a contract extension to remain in Edmonton? Further, why would Holland even want to consider extending such an offer -- no matter how much he might have been instructed to -- given the poor showing from Broberg up to that point at the NHL level?
It's all very well saying Broberg should have been offered an extension with hindsight, i.e. after he played so well during the latter stages of the Oilers' playoff run. However, back then it was an entirely different kettle of fish.
Turning to Holloway, it was a slightly different situation in so much as back in December he was out with a knee injury suffered on Nov. 15. Again though, why would Holland be in such a hurry to get a player re-signed while they were still rehabbing?
Additionally, as with Broberg, the forward also had done little prior to his injury anyway, producing just one point and a -3 rating in 14 games this season for the Oilers. As such, it's tough to be too critical of Holland for not offering either player a contract extension at that time.
Plus, as already mentioned in respect of Broberg specifically, there's no guarantee either player would have accepted any offer placed on the table for them back in December (or January). Ultimately, there's plenty of moving parts which have brought us to this point, so if anyone wants to try and put a significant portion of any blame on the shoulders of Holland, then they are sadly misguided.