The Edmonton Oilers have had two major decisions thrust upon them by the St. Louis Blues, and now they’ve seemingly already made up their mind on Dylan Holloway.

This past week, the NHL world was shocked by the St. Louis Blues, who were finally the team to step up and offer sheet not one but both of the Edmonton Oilers RFA’s in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.

With seven days from the time of the announcement to answer, the pressure has been put on new General Manager Stan Bowman to make a decision, and now he has done so, on Dylan Holloway at least.

«I believe the Oilers will match the offer for Holloway.»

– Elliotte Friedman

According to the NHL’s top insider Elliotte Friedman, the expectation is that the Oilers will match the offer sheet given to Dylan Holloway, which is a two-year deal carrying a value of $4.58 million over that time. While Holloway couldn’t quite get it going in the regular season, he came alive in the biggest moments during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tallying 5 goals and 7 points over 25 games played, helping the Oilers make it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

As for Broberg, if this report from Friedman is accurate, it all but confirms his departure from the Oilers, unless the team can quickly put together a deal that sees either Brett Kulak or Cody Ceci moved alongside a first or second round pick. At this point, either of those moves sound unlikely, but with still a few days to match either deal by the Blues, this could change in a hurry.

Teams out there know the Oilers are desperate to move either veteran defenseman if they want to potentially match both deals, so they’ll be looking to get the most out of new GM Stan Bowman, but for now, all indicators are that the Oilers are trying to keep Dylan Holloway, with Philip Broberg’s future seemingly with St. Louis.