To the surprise of most of the hockey world, the Calgary Flames were in the hunt for a playoff spot until very late in the season. In fact, they were even in a playoff spot at times, holding onto a wild card spot intermittently.
It took until very late in the season, through their 81st game, for it to finally become official and they got the dreaded E on the NHL standings page.
The Battle of Alberta has been fairly tame on the ice this season, but off of it there might be something brewing in the battle. As unintentionally as it may be. And it is linked to a couple of former Oilers who were on the move last offseason.
Which former Oilers helped keep the Flames out of the playoffs?
We are wildly familiar with the offer sheet situation last summer for the Edmonton Oilers. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, two of the most promising young players the Oilers had (and two players who would have looked absolutely fantastic on their roster this season), signed an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers, controvsersially, did not match either of them, allowing the duo to join the Blues.
How does that factor in to all of this? Well, the St. Louis Blues were one of the teams that jumped up the standings late in the season to occupy one of the wild card spots that the Flames were chasing.
Back on March 15, the Flames and Blues were both tied as the first runners-up to a wild card spot, sitting at 71 points and two behind the Vancouver Canucks, who held the second wild card spot at the time. But then in a streak eerily similar to the one they had in 2019, the Blues went on an absolute tear and won 12 straight games. This allowed them to leapfrog multiple teams, creating a cushion between themselves and the Flames, who will be the first runner-up to the playoffs in the West.
How did Holloway and Broberg factor into this?
All season long, Holloway and Broberg have been crucial parts of this Blues team. Broberg started hot, providing a ton of offence and filling a big role on St. Louis’ defence. While Holloway became a speedy, exciting forward driving play and fitting in well with the team’s best forwards.
Both have stepped their game up through the season as they develop into the full-time NHLers they were destined to be, had they been given a proper chance in Edmonton.
In relation to this most recent streak that propelled the Blues into a playoff spot, Holloway in particular provided an elite level of offence. He did get hurt late in the streak, but he did play in the first 11 games of it. In those games, he contributed five goals and 15 points while playing over 17 minutes per game.
Broberg, on the other hand, may have had less of an offensive contribution, but he is playing massive minutes on this Blues team. Over the 12-game win streak, he was averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per game. He also managed two goals and seven points over that stretch, including a four-point night when the Blues defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–1.
If the Oilers had matched one of (or both) of these players, there is no telling how that would have impacted the Blues’ playoff chances not just in this late season push, but in the other 65 games beforehand.
Stan Bowman’s decision to let both Holloway and Broberg join the Blues over the summer definitely had some unintended consequences. Us Oilers fans are more than happy to see how it helped keep our greatest rival out of the playoffs and toiling away in perpetual mediocrity once again.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
I would have much sooner seen the Oilers match the offer sheets and keep both of those players. I was obvious from their play late in last season and the playoffs that they would become front runners on any team including the Oilers!
Same here, 100% wish they kept both.. but gotta find some way to cope with the poor decisions the team makes sometimes ðŸ˜