NHL Mock Trade: Columnist suggests Vancouver Canucks may help out Oilers in offer sheet dilemma by taking on $10,000,000 contract

By Anjum Rajonno

Modified Aug 18, 2024 15:25 GMT

The St. Louis Blues placed the Edmonton Oilers in a serious dilemma as they sent offer sheets to two of their young players, defenseman Phillip Broberg and young forward Dylan Holloway. With the clock ticking down the seconds, Vancouver Canucks’ Tucker Poolman could be part of a possible trade to Edmonton amid the offer sheet chaos.

The Oilers are considering trades involving defensemen Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci. The reason for this is that they need to free up cap space to match offer sheets for Holloway and Broberg. Patrick Johnston of "The Province" suggested that the Vancouver Canucks could offer Edmonton a different deal.

“Rather than demanding a pick, they could ask Edmonton to take the Tucker Poolman contract off their hands. Poolman hasn’t played since January 2023 because of migraines and isn’t expected to play again,” Johnston wrote. [H/T NHL Trade Rumors]

The idea is that the Oilers could place Poolman's four-year $10,000,000 contract on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), which would save them cap space. In return, the Canucks would likely take Brett Kulak, a player with ties to Vancouver, off the Edmonton's hands. Kulak is described as a solid but "marginal" upgrade over the Canucks' current third-pair defense options.

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Edmonton Oilers in a tight spot with double offer sheets from St. Louis Blues

The Blues likely targeted both the Oilers players to increase their chances of signing at least one, as focusing on just one might not have been enough to pry them away from Edmonton. Broberg was originally seeking a salary of about $1.8 million from Edmonton, but the Blues made a much higher offer of $4.6 million per year for two years, per NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman.

“I had heard that Broberg was asking from Edmonton a salary in the $1.8 million range. That's kind of where he wanted to go. So, if that's true... the Blues just gave him 250% more than he was asking for,” Elliotte Friedman said. [H/T NHL Trade Rumors]

Similarly, Holloway was negotiating a one-year deal with the Oilers worth around $1.2 million. However, the Blues offered him a two-year deal worth $2.29 million annually, nearly doubling what he was expecting.

Friedman described these substantial offers as "poison pills," as these will be very difficult for Edmonton to match, potentially forcing them to lose Ceci or Kulak and make tough decisions about their roster.