What Does Dylan Holloway's Next Contract Look Like For St. Louis Blues?

ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to Dylan Holloway, there's one guarantee: he will be playing for the St. Louis Blues in 2026-27.

The only question regarding the 24-year-old forward is whether it will be under a long-term contract or a bridge deal.

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Holloway, who the Blues acquired via offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers along with defenseman Philip Broberg Aug. 20, 2024, once again showed why he has so much promise when he finished sizzling hot down the stretch for the Blues, finishing with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 25 games, which was tied with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks for sixth in the NHL in that time frame.

Having his health -- finally -- back to 100 percent and looking like his former self prior to the April 5, 2025 injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he tore his oblique/abductor muscle when he was putting up career highs in goals (26) assists (37) and points (63) last season has Holloway on the right path. His injury riddle also included a stint roughly two months with a high ankle sprain suffered in practice on Dec. 14. He came back for one game Jan. 18 against the Oilers, only to be sidelined until Feb. 26.

"Being healthy’s huge," Holloway said Saturday following exit meetings at Enterprise Center. "It definitely felt a lot better to not have any aches or pains. It’s definitely a struggle when you’re playing injured. You struggle mentally and I tried to come back maybe a bit early, but I just wanted to come back for team and help the team win. It just sucks being out like that. To come back healthy playing the way we were, it was great."

But now comes the big question with Holloway hitting restricted free agency status on July 1: do the Blues invest with a long-term contract or do they go the bridge contract route on a shorter-term deal, a prove-it type of deal like they once did with Jaden Schwartz before getting him signed to more term?

If you ask the player, he's all-in on a long-term future in St. Louis, and this is quite different than two years ago when his status with the Oilers was unknown.

"Pretty different," Holloway said. "It was kind of wild two years ago, but I’m obviously very thankful to be a Blue and I want to be a Blue for a long time. It’s exciting, but it’s kind of out of my hands now. It’s up to my agent and 'Army' and 'Steener', but I want to be a Blue for a long time. I’m confident that we can get something done."

The Blues are confident something will get done too, but Doug Armstrong, who is the outgoing GM who hands the reigns over to Alex Steen on July 1, almost feel included to wait this process out before deciding.

Armstrong signed Broberg to a six-year, $48 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on Jan. 10.

"It would be open-ended," Armstrong said of Holloway's RFA status. "When I look at a player like Philip Broberg, he started the season in one area and he ended in the same area and it was in the same four or five percent. Dylan Holloway did not start the year the way he ended it. So Dylan Holloway has to prove to himself and the league that he’s an 82-game player to that level that he played at the end. I think he is, but what I think is really irrelevant. It’s what he does. There’s more based on what Broberg did to what 'Holly' did, there’s more gray in that area in him. And that’s just being an honest answer. We need a consistent 82-game play. I think he’s got it in him. I sure do, but I can’t have it both ways saying I don’t look at the post-Olympic thing when teams weren’t taking us serious and you do all your scoring when no one takes us serious. Well, when teams are taking us serious, how do we play? We all have to answer that. We all have to answer that question better."

Holloway was a league-best plus-26 from since the Olympic break; he, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud formed not only the best line the Blues had to put out on a nightly basis but one that was one of the best in the entire league; they were in the top 10 in expected goals for and expected goals for percentage.

"I think we had good (chemistry)," Holloway said. "I just think it was the way we complemented each other on the ice is great. Obviously ‘Tommer’ kind of patrols up the middle. He’s such an underrated passer and he’s always in the right spot and he kind of sets me and ‘Snugs’ up quite a bit. We’re two shooters on the wing and we kind of fly up and down the ice that way and ‘Tommer’ takes care of it defensively. It was nice. It was a lot of fun to play with these guys. I feel like we had good (chemistry)."

The Blues have a couple ways of looking at this: they can either risk and invest in Holloway now with longer term and the player likely gives back on his AAV with more security, or they play a 2-3 year bridge contract, which would take Holloway to UFA status and if he remains healthy and his numbers continue to climb, he would hit UFA status by the time he's 27 and then they may really have to pony up some big bucks with the cap rising and more than likely, going max term.

It'll be interesting to see which way the sides decide to go with, but this player seems like a worthy investment in right now; he finished the season with 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) in 59 games and a plus-13 rating.

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