After a very impressive 10-game showing in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Edmonton Oilers fans were quite excited regarding the future of Philip Broberg. There were some painful years for the 2019 eighth overall pick, but he proved to be worth the wait, and certainly removed any doubts of being a draft bust.
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Oilers fans won’t get to experience his potential rise to stardom, however, as he was signed to a two-year offer sheet by the St. Louis Blues, which Stan Bowman and his management team chose not to match. The decision not to match the 23-year-old’s deal came as a surprise to some, though they chalked it up to the hefty $4.58 million salary he received. At least part of their reasoning, however, may have been chalked up to something else.
Broberg Wanted to Move On
As mentioned, it took Broberg some time before making an impact at the NHL level. In fact, if we’re being completely honest, there are still plenty of unknowns for what his future holds. The Oilers were extremely patient with him, as shown by the fact that he’s logged only 81 regular season games, along with an extra 20 in the playoffs.
While overripening your prospects is generally not seen as a bad thing, the one negative that can come from it is that the player himself can become frustrated. That was the case with Broberg, who requested a trade in early December this past season.
Broberg’s request received plenty of discussion at the time, but most forgot about it all together heading into the offseason. With his performance in the playoffs, it was clear that he would have a full-time role in the NHL this coming season, causing virtually everyone to assume he was now content. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, however, that wasn’t the case.
“Broberg never rescinded his in-season trade demand, and the Oilers knew he was unhappy,” Friedman wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts column.
This could, at least partly, explain why Broberg had gone unsigned as long as he did into the offseason. Based on Friedman’s comments, it appears as though the Swedish blueliner was still looking for a change of scenery, and having to take what he may have considered a discount to work with the Oilers cap situation may have led to even more frustration.
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As rare as offer sheets are, Broberg and his agent may have envisioned one happening given how tight the Oilers were to the NHL’s maximum salary cap. When the Blues came in with an offer that was miles more than Broberg could have ever imagined, it would have been a no-brainer to sign. Not only did he receive a major payday, but he was able to move on from an organization he no longer wanted to be a part of.
Best to Move on From Players Who Don’t Want to Be Around
With the Oilers having a strong chance at winning the Stanley Cup this coming season, it is crucial to ensure everyone in the dressing room is happy and on board with the main goal at hand. Having players who don’t want to be around can sometimes suck the life out of a dressing room, which is something the Oilers cannot afford, and don’t have to worry about with Broberg out of the picture.
Of course, this can’t be entirely blamed on Broberg, as he showed during the playoffs that he likely should have been on the Oilers’ back end for the entirety of the 2023-24 season. In the same breath, it’s hard to fault him for capitalizing on a huge payday which was far more than anybody would have ever envisioned him getting.
Ideally, the Oilers would have been able to re-sign Broberg, and perhaps move on from him via trade. He would have certainly been worth more than the second-round pick the Oilers wound up receiving for him as compensation, but there’s nothing that can be done now to fix that. Instead, the organization can now look forward, and not have to worry about a potential issue surfacing in the dressing room this coming season.
