It’s a shame that the Edmonton Oilers may have no choice but to trade Philip Broberg this season. Not only is Broberg a high-end prospect that may hit his stride in the next season or two, but Edmonton had a chance to move him last season for a bonaifide top-four defenseman and didn’t do it. Now, if the Oilers have to move Broberg for pennies on the dollar because of a disgruntled player’s frustration over ice time, it’s a bad look. Thanks to a tight cap situation and their spot in the standings, GM Ken Holland may wind up looking back and wondering why he didn’t pull the trigger when he had the chance. That player Holland could have added was Jakob Chychrun.
Oilers Could Have Traded Broberg For Chychrun
The Arizona Coyotes were looking to deal him and waiting for the right return that never came. In the end, they moved Chychrun to Ottawa, but not before the Oilers said no to a deal that would have seen him dealt to Edmonton.
Related: Oilers Deny Granting Broberg’s Agent Permission to Seek Trade
As per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic:
By last fall, defenseman Jakob Chychrun wanted out of Arizona and was being linked to Edmonton. However, including Broberg in such a trade was seen as a non-starter because there were people in the Oilers organization who felt Broberg would be as good as Chychrun – perhaps as soon as the end of that season.
In other words, the Oilers were so bullish on what Broberg could become, they turned down an offensive defenseman who had scored 41 points in 56 games during the 2020-21 season. An injury set him back before coming to score 28 points in 36 games for the Coyotes in 2022-23 and 5 points in 12 games for the Senators after the trade. This season, Chychrun already has five goals and 12 points in 20 games for Ottawa, a 49-point pace.
In February of 2023, during a recent segment on Oilers Now, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman and host Bob Stauffer talked about trade deadline options for the Oilers. It was Stauffer who said, “3 months ago I would’ve said no on Chychrun, 2 months ago I would’ve said probably not. Now I’m thinking, if you’re going to trade something, might as well be for something good.” Interestingly, the Oilers might be looking back and this and wondering if they missed their opportunity.
Can the Oilers Salvage Things With Broberg? Are They Better Off Trying?
Edmonton has been through this kind of thing before. Jesse Puljujarvi was upset with his usage and asked for a trade before the Oilers sent him overseas. Eventually he came back, and after there was no one that ever thought to two sides would make nice. Puljujarvi didn’t ultimately pan out, but the point was that Holland wasn’t ready to give him away in a bad trade. One would assume, he won’t give Broberg away either.
With that in mind, if a team doesn’t step up with a strong offer, the Oilers might be better off trying to repair things. Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 noted, “The right decision is to send Broberg to the AHL and play him 20+ minutes/game.” He adds, in the meantime, recall anyone to sit in the pressbox, and when the Oilers have an injury on the blueline, the team can recall Broberg. It will be then that Broberg gets big minutes. He might even prove himself to be the prospect Holland assumed he was — someone on track to be a top-four defenseman.
The alternative is holding out on a trade until the Oilers have a team step up and offer someone that can help Edmonton today. Frank Seravalli tweeted, “Edmonton isn’t interested in getting a pick back, they’d like a player. So you’ll have to likely find a player in a similar situation.”
Whoever it is the Oilers get back, there needs to be some upside. Edmonton doesn’t yet know what Broberg will be. They knew what Chychrun was, but a trade like that is off the table now. It’s unlikely anyone comes forward with a similar offer.
Next: Oilers: 3 Potential Trade Destinations for Philip Broberg
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