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Scribe Defends Oilers: Blues Insider Blasts the Broberg Offer Sheet

One Oilers journalist is partially defending the team against a St. Louis Blues insider who blasted Edmonton for the Broberg offer sheet.

The Edmonton Oilers’ loss of Philip Broberg to the St. Louis Blues via an offer sheet has raised questions about management’s decisions regarding young talent and cap space. Long-time hockey commentator Andy Strickland expressed surprise that the Oilers allowed a player of Broberg’s caliber to slip away, highlighting the challenge of finding players with his skill set and the commitment it takes to develop them.



He wrote:

Not to pile on but I’m shocked Edmonton would allow a 23-year-old Dman with the skating ability and overall skillset of Philip Broberg get away. Typically the only way you get your hands on these guys is by drafting them, they got him eighth overall and lost him at 23. How good is this this guy going to be at 27?

While Strickland said he didn’t want to pile it on the Oilers, that’s exactly what he was doing. And, he might have been right to do so. The Oilers made a mistake here. Broberg, a former eighth-overall pick, wasn’t just valuable as a high-skating defenseman; early returns in St. Louis suggests he represented the potential cornerstone of Edmonton’s future blue line.

Strickland’s comments highlight the fact the Oilers didn’t handle Broberg’s development well. From over-ripening him in the AHL to not signing him in December when they probably had a chance to do so, they frustrated the defenseman to the point he recently said in an interview that he was happy to have moved on and that it was time for a change.

Now thriving in St. Louis, Broberg has notched seven points in nine games, proving his value as a key contributor for the Blues.

One Oilers’ Scribe Argues the Oilers Had Little Choice With Broberg

David Staples of the Edmonton Journal pointed out that Oilers Now analyst Bob Stauffer had previously noted (to then-Oilers management) the importance of locking in young talents like Broberg and Dylan Holloway. They didn’t listen. But, Staples argues it wasn’t totally the Oilers’ fault.

With Edmonton’s cap constraints and an emphasis on retaining veteran players, Broberg was ultimately left out. Staples leaves room for the idea that the Oilers could have gone a different route, but he noted that the Oilers’ decision to prioritize big contracts for experienced players, including Connor Brown and Corey Perry, possibly overshadowed a stronger focus on young talent retention.

Broberg and Holloway Oilers Blues

He writes:

“Bottom line: Broberg wanted out and for a team with ample cap space like St. Louis, the risk of offering a two-year contract at $4.5 million was well worth it. It made sense for their cap situation, not Edmonton’s cap situation.”

He adds that when a team experiences success like the Oilers have, they often struggle to keep all their talented players due to salary cap constraints. Even if Broberg had signed a one-year deal, it would have been challenging to keep him beyond that unless Edmonton offloaded one or two players with salaries exceeding $5 million. The Oilers knew this, which might have been one of their reasons for letting him go.

The Offer Sheet Wasn’t Just About Losing Broberg

For the Oilers, it was about determining if Broberg was a guaranteed top-four defenseman capable of doing what he’s been doing with the Blues since his arrival. Frankly, who would have predicted this level of production? Anyone who says they saw this coming is likely being untruthful.

The Oilers would have had to sacrifice several players to make their money work and at the time they could have gotten Broberg at a bargain, the belief was that he’d already made up his mind to leave.

Next: Oilers Already Have Two Solutions to their Lack of Speed

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Maggie

    October 27, 2024 at 3:07 pm

    Strickland is right about the matter. Such isn’t piling on, its the reality. Jackson put the Oilers in the mess by spending on free agents before having his internal house in order (signing Holloway and Broberg first).
    There isn’t another team in the league that would choose to have Perry in the liine up over Holloway. Even in last year playoffs, Perry was the one that spent more time in the press box. As for Boberg, it was unreasonable for Jackson to expect a defencemen who played top 4 minutes in the Stanley Cup finals to resign for near league minimum salary. Over the next decade Holloway and Broberg will bring more value to the Blues than the 8.35 million dollars (includes Perry’s 250,000 dollar bonus) spent on Perry, Josh Brown, Stecher, Janmark, Dermot, and having Jeff Skinner in the line up for one year. Plus still needing to spend money and assets to trade for another top 4 defenceman at some point during the season as well as addressing that they now have a bottom 6 forward group that is slow.

    • Gord Bennett

      October 27, 2024 at 5:52 pm

      Your only seeing the small picture. What about the long term cap hit of keeping the unknowens and haveing thwe cap hits of McDavid, Draisytl, and Bouchard. It’s so easy to sit and question the happenings in the Oilers managerial group from the outside but face it your only seeing the small picture with 25% of the fact and or knowledege

  2. Gord Bennett

    October 27, 2024 at 5:51 pm

    Your only seeing the small picture. What about the long term cap hit of keeping the unknowens and haveing thwe cap hits of McDavid, Draisytl, and Bouchard. It’s so easy to sit and question the happenings in the Oilers managerial group from the outside but face it your only seeing the small picture with 25% of the fact and or knowledege

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