Edmonton Oilers make final ruling on Philip Broberg after trade request

Earlier this season, Philip Broberg found himself as a constant healthy scratch in the Oilers lineup. Frustrated with the lack of playing time, Broberg publicly requested a trade and made his ice time concerns known. In response, the Oilers sent him to AHL Bakersfield to get consistent playing time, and the results have been fantastic. Now, the Oilers front office has made the final ruling on Brober going into the trade deadline - he will not be traded for a rental.

According to Elliotte Friedman last night in Saturday's Headlines, the Oilers have been extremely impressed with Broberg's progress in the AHL this year, and now can't see a possibility where they would trade him for a rental player. Interestingly though, that does leave the option for trading Broberg for a player with term on their contract.

The two trade targets the Oilers have been linked to most are both pending free agent forwards, being Jake Guentzel and Jordan Eberle. However, the Oilers and Flyers have been rumoured to be connecting on a massive deal surrounding Sean Walker and Jack Campbell. If the Oilers could move Broberg to get out of Campbell's contract and add to their team before the deadline, that would be a quality trade they'd have to explore - but the price of losing Broberg would sting.


Still just 22 years old and the eighth overall draft pick of the Oilers in 2019, Broberg has the potential to make the NHL as a legitimate top four defenceman. He's taken a massive step in the AHL this year, absolutely dominating the low-scoring league with one goal and 19 points in 29 games. Despite being barely unable to crack the roster this year, the Oilers will be unwilling to trade Broberg because they see him as part of the future of this team.