Even in media availability early in the offseason Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland was openly acknowledging the conundrum that is Philip Broberg’s current place in the Oilers lineup. In something of a catch 22, Broberg has yet to prove himself as a regular member of the coaching staff’s trust tree, but the Oilers are clearly not going out of their way to give him much support in this quest either. The issue loomed over the background the offseason while Kailer Yamamoto joined Jesse Puljujarvi as former first-round picks that the Oilers decided to move on from.
Now we have seen the situation develop into something of a head, as Broberg finds himself a healthy scratch. While hardly the final crossroads between player and team, let’s explore some possibilities of how the Oilers might handle Broberg in the coming months.
Broberg’s profile
Outside of Moritz Seider, the entire population of first-round defencemen from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft are starting to come into their own as legitimate NHLers. This is an important note, because it helps ground us to the fact that Broberg is not lagging behind an impressive peer group that includes Bowen Byram, Cam York, Victor Soderstrom, Thomas Harley, Lassi Thomson, Ville Heinola, Tobias Bjornfot and Ryan Johnston. Though Broberg has now played parts of three seasons with the Oilers, fans might be starting to feel some ennui with what is a coming of age for the highly touted left shot.
There are a lot of obvious traits that stand out for Broberg. At 6’4”, Broberg has the attribute of size, in vogue thanks to the reigning champion Vegas Golden Knights. Broberg is a strong skater, with speed and fluidity, another indisputable attribute that is of growing importance league wide. He has some puck skills as well, though he is hardly the offensive force or natural power play option that Evan Bouchard is. Broberg’s passing is good, but his greatest contribution as an offensive option likely comes from his abilities as a puck carrier. The defenceman can attack through the neutral zone, or open up passing lanes in transition thanks to his skating.
Broberg has a lot of raw tools, though he might still be able to add to those with greater strength and balance. The areas that have held him back, so to speak, are more intangible. There are still moments of defensive lapses, paralysis from analysis, and a lack of physical intensity that surely are issues for the Oilers coaching staff. In many ways, these issues should resolve themselves, or at least improve, with time and experience.
Why scratch Broberg?
It’s not that Broberg hasn’t shown any aptitude here, as he performed well last season, even on a pairing with Bouchard, albeit in sheltered minutes, or on the right, his weak side, rotating through without a regular partner. Rather, there are still ugly moments, including a rough game against the Winnipeg Jets in the preseason, where Broberg’s game falters. As a contending team, the Oilers coaches have little room to focus on anything but the present, and clearly they feel that Broberg hasn’t earned a spot in the top six outright yet. In their eyes, they do right by the team in dressing the best lineup night to night.
To do right by Broberg would look completely different. Playing on his weak side is a big ask, as is playing without a regular partner with a complimentary skill set, even more so from the press box. Ideally all of these conditions would be stacked more favourably for Broberg, but the Oilers have yet to afford him any of them. Some might argue that with his current waiver exemption, allowing Broberg to at least see some game action in the AHL would be more beneficial than his current usage with the Oilers.
The fact that the Oilers have scratched Broberg instead of demoting him might be a sign of the coaching staff’s approach to getting more from the player. A few games in the press box might help inspire some urgency to address the shortcomings of his game. The scratching is hardly a long term solution, and at some point the Oilers will show us what their plan for Broberg is with a bit more conviction. For now, we might be generous to the coaching plan in saying that some tough love is needed to help the team get more out of Broberg, and that at some point in the near future they will give him a shot in a position to succeed.
Pairing options
Cody Ceci
In a vacuum, if we were trying to give Broberg the ideal partner on the Oilers, the best option might be Cody Ceci. A stable veteran with a fairly well rounded skillset, Ceci has done quite well during his time with the Oilers, holding down a spot on the top pairing. Despite this, Ceci is a bit overtaxed, and the Oilers could upgrade.
A pairing with Ceci would see Broberg on his strong side. More than this, Ceci would be able to help in a number of facets, as an in-zone defender, some puck moving abilities, and a mentor. Presumably, the pair would see regular shifts that might fit them both, with Broberg playing more than he is currently, and Ceci playing a bit less.
Unfortunately for the Oilers they don’t currently have many options to upgrade over Ceci as Nurse’s partner. Broberg is probably the only option outside of Vincent Desharnais, or playing Brett Kulak on his weak side, but given how heavily the Oilers rely on Nurse we can understand the hesitancy to split up the Nurse-Ceci pairing.
Mattias Ekholm
By the same token, Mattias Ekholm would make a great partner for Broberg, perhaps even more so. Congruently, Ekholm is the Oilers top defensive option, and this partnership would demand a lot out of Broberg, likely against the top players on opposing teams. On top of this, Ekholm is an even better fit, stylistically and functionally, with Bouchard, and it is quite unlikely the Oilers have an appetite to change them.
Evan Bouchard
As such, a pairing with Bouchard outright is unlikely. The two did have some success together last season, which showed a lot as they survived without a veteran to rely upon. Perhaps circumstantially it would be nice to see them reunited. This highlights that it might have been disappointing to see that Broberg didn’t get a shot here while Ekholm missed time in training camp.
This partnership would ask a lot from Broberg’s defensive game, and perhaps cause him to defer puck moving duties to Bouchard more than we would want. On the other hand, it would be likely that this group is given favourable minutes in offensive situations, which might help build confidence.
Darnell Nurse
Broberg does bring many of the same elements to the ice that Darnell Nurse does, so a pairing together might be interesting. This would be a big ask of Broberg defensively and in terms of quality of competition, and require him to play his weak side. While pairing both Nurse and Broberg with partners of contrasting skill might be ideal, both are well rounded enough to thrive together.
In the end, it’s probably not the best course of action for the Oilers to force Broberg so high up in the lineup. Despite this the Oilers need to be prepared. Just let season in Game 5 of the playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, when Nurse was suspended, Broberg was thrown into the deep end, taking a penalty against Jack Eichel, struggling against one of the league’s best players.
If the Oilers want Broberg to be better prepared for such duties in the future, they should be using the time now to give Broberg a longer leash and more support now, in the regular season.
Kulak or Desharnais
Ultimately, Broberg is fighting with Brett Kulak and Vincent Desharnais for icetime at this point. At the same time, these options lower in the lineup are the most likely partners for Broberg.
Considering that the Oilers have been so content to use Broberg on his weak side, the ideal fit might be him on Kulak’s right side. For many of the same reasons that Ceci would be a good partner for Broberg, Kulak figures to be as well. Kulak is a dependable barometer, capable of providing good support for Broberg in a third pairing role.
Desharnais is a far less proven option, though as a right shot he would allow for Broberg to play his strong side. Desharnais’ abilities as an in zone defender would be appreciated as a partner for Broberg, but Desharnais is fighting to prove he can replicate his level of play from last season as it is.
Perhaps the most important part of finding Broberg a regular partner, and the most disappointing, is that the Oilers have been anything but a fine tuned defensive team early into the 2023–24 season. If the group was playing too well to make changes benching Broberg might be more reasonable, but with few of the Oilers playing sound defensively there should be little holding them back from making a change that sees Broberg in a more favourable spot.
Trade chip
The wildcard option is to use Broberg as a valuable trade chip at some point in the season. Again, it should be reiterated that Broberg is by no means lagging behind a reasonable development curve. While he might not be at his all time high from a value perspective, it only makes sense to move Broberg if the team the Oilers are trading with value him quite highly as an asset.
Take for example the Oilers biggest trade from last season, where Ekholm was acquired with salary retention for cap counterweight Tyson Barrie, top prospect Reid Schaefer, and a first-round pick. If you can find a legitimate top-four defensive option on the right side dollar for dollar, a package surrounding Broberg, Ceci, and a pick might be enough to net the Oilers an equally impressive return.
This is a much more complicated scenario, as defencemen of this calibre are rarely available. Ceci does not make as much as Barrie does either, meaning the relief from Ceci alone might not give the Oilers enough room to afford any of the limited options that might be available to them. Trading two defencemen for one would be a detriment to the Oilers depth as well, meaning there might be added stress onto the likes of Desharnais, or options in the AHL like Ben Gleason or Markus Niemelainen.
Perhaps Broberg could be enough to shake up the roster with more of a cap dump style trade. Might Broberg be enough to convince a team to take on a more cumbersome contract, like Jack Campbell? Presumably the Oilers would be finding another option in net in such a case. This could come in the form of a high priced option in net, a true number one, at least by reputation, though they might elect to find a cheaper option of similar skill and use the cap saving elsewhere in the lineup.
Broberg is still an extremely valuable asset, a prospect of a quality that is uncommon to acquire, often involving a year finishing near the bottom of the league. Without any prospects considered to be in the top 50 league wide, the Oilers don’t exactly have many players who would be more valuable as a trade asset. In fact, even the Oilers draft capital might be easier for the team to part ways with. Unless the team feels that Broberg is not salvageable, Broberg should be quite difficult to move on from.
The runway
Despite a blueline with its share of strengths, the past two seasons the Oilers have lost to the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights, teams with outstanding bluelines. One of the only paths that the Oilers currently have of matching this level of dominance comes through Broberg’s hypothetical coming of age. A defender of his size and skill asserting himself as an NHLer would be enough to significantly upgrade the Oilers blueline.
As a team that is expecting to contend for the next 10 seasons, as stated by new team President Jeff Jackson, the chance to add such a player to the team’s core might never come again. Quite simply, the Oilers might owe it to themselves to see how things play out with Broberg for at least a few more seasons.
Of course, we often wish away the present, expecting big steps forward each season, but development is rarely so smooth. Once again we should remember that Broberg is quite in line with his draft class, and it is inaccurate to say that he is late arriving or lagging behind where he should be.
Though we want Broberg to be an indispensable core piece of the Oilers blueline right now, a more reasonable time frame might not be until Connor McDavid’s next contract that this reality comes to fruition, or rather three seasons from now. The cap is expected to start rising again, but having young players like Broberg coming into their own will likely mean they are doing so at a surplus cap value. The Oilers still have to convince McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to re-sign with the team, and having the upward mobility of players like Broberg in the fold should be a big part of convincing them that the Oilers program is sustainable.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
2 Comments