Oilers grant former eighth overall pick permission to seek trade

Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported that the Edmonton Oilers have granted defenseman Philip Broberg permission to seek a trade. Broberg was the eighth overall selection of the Oilers back in the 2019 NHL Draft and has yet to crack a full-time spot in the lineup.

Since coming over to the Oilers organization back in the 2021-22 season, he had been previously playing for Skelleftea AIK of the SHL. Broberg would go on to play 89 games in Sweden’s top professional league, scoring four goals and 21 points overall, becoming one of Edmonton’s top prospects on the blue line.

Unfortunately, and mainly due to injuries, Broberg has been unable to find any staying power at the NHL level. Between both the Oilers and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, Broberg has been unable to separate himself from the rest of the pack, averaging mild production at both levels.

Over three seasons, at the NHL level, Broberg has played in a total of 79 games for Edmonton, only scoring two goals and 11 points, without producing much in the way of defensive contributions, either. In Bakersfield, he has done better on the offensive side of the puck, scoring six goals and 29 points in 42 games.

On the left side of the blue line, especially after acquiring Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators last season, it was always going to be incredibly difficult for Broberg to move up the depth chart in any meaningful way. With that in mind, the team will now allow Broberg to speak to interested teams to facilitate a trade. At 22 years old, and with a $863K salary for the rest of the season, there are plenty of teams that may be interested in taking a flyer on Broberg.

Since Edmonton is looking to compete this season, and as Seravalli alluded to in his initial report, the Oilers have no interest in receiving a draft pick back and are primarily looking for a player in return for Broberg. However, given their salary cap situation, Edmonton and Broberg’s camp are going to have to find a player in a similar situation with a very similar salary situation to make a trade work.

Ultimately, the Oilers have a few options when it comes to trading Broberg, as most speculation will likely revolve around Broberg being attached to Jack Campbell’s contract for Edmonton to upgrade their goaltending situation. Nevertheless, with needs in other areas of the game as well, it certainly expands on the possibilities for the Oilers.

It would be reasonable to assume that if any team is interested in acquiring Broberg for their defensive core, they are unlikely to trade from an area of need, meaning the Oilers will likely be able to use this trade to upgrade their offensive depth. One team and player that immediately comes to mind given their team needs at the moment is the Tampa Bay Lightning and forward Alex Barre-Boulet.

Barre-Boulet is four years older than Broberg and is making $88K less, meaning Edmonton would be ultimately saving money on this trade. Typically a high-scoring player at the AHL level, Barre-Boulet has scored four goals and seven points in 19 games for the Lightning this season, which would immediately make him the seventh-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers.

At the end of the day, now that the trade request and permission are public knowledge, Broberg will more than likely be apart of a different organization at the end of the season. Given his age and relatively low salary, there are a multitude of paths that both he and Edmonton could take to get him a fresh start.