Dylan Holloway knows signing with the St. Louis Blues doesn't sit well with some Edmonton Oiler fans.
Holloway expects to hear some boos when he hits the ice in Edmonton for the first time as a member of the St. Louis Blues.
"They definitely have very passion fans, and a lot of die-hard fans, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's some boos," said Holloway in a virtual press conference yesterday from his home in Bragg Creek, "but at the end of the day, I don't think the fans understand the circumstances we were put in."
"Hopefully it's more of a warm welcome," he continued. "I have nothing but good things to say about my time in Edmonton, but I could see them booing a little bit. I think it will be fun."
The 22-year-old hockey player believes it was the right choice for his career and liked what he heard in discussions with Doug Amstrong, St. Louis Blues president of hockey operations and general manager.
Holloway says Armstrong aims to build a young core of players to lead them into the future. Holloway believes there are now 10 first round picks under the age of 25 with the Blues.
Among them is Airdrie's Jake Neighbours, whom Holloway knows from minor hockey
"With the young core group of guys we have here, I think in the next couple of years we could be a very good team, and it's exciting to think about," says Holloway.
Armstrong says they saw a rare opportunity to grab two players from the Oilers organization. Last season's Stanley Cup finalist is struggling to work within their salary cap while attempting to hold on to their major stars.
"I thought this was an opportunity that doesn't come around all the time and we had the picks, we had the cap space, and they fit into a plan that we have that Mr. (Tom) Stillman and his partners have signed off on of trying to build something sustainable."
He says it's all about the bottom line.
"It's a good investment for us, it's a good investment for the Blues, and we think highly of these players. We think they're going to be key players on our team."
During his press conference, Stan Bowman, Oilers general manager and executive vice-president of hockey operations, said when the offer sheets came in, they considered four scenarios before choosing to let the restricted players out of their grips.
"It's not that I had any concerns about the players or anything," said Bowman. "This came down to a business decision relative to our short-term as well as long-term viability for our roster with the salary cap."
Yesterday, the Oilers confirmed it would not match the contract offer sheets presented by the St. Louis Blues to forward Dylan Holloway and defenceman Philip Broberg.
Holloway's two-year contract with the Blues is valued at $2.29 million a season.
He expects to report to St. Louis in early September.
