The Oilers have reportedly told teams they won’t trade Philip Broberg for a rental
By Zach Laing
5 months agoIt’s been far from a smooth start to Philip Broberg’s NHL career as the still-budding prospect has had his fair share of highs and lows.
Earlier this season he was at another one of those lows. Struggling to crack the Oilers lineup, he and his agent reportedly received permission to seek a trade.
While no move has been made, and Broberg was subsequently sent to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, where he’s flourished, it doesn’t mean that he will remain with the franchise that drafted him eighth overall. In fact, he could still find his way out the door as soon as the March 8th NHL trade deadline.
But, according to a Saturday night report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the network’s Headlines segment, it won’t be in any deal for a rental.
Ken Holland is looking at his team, and he’s going to do something. But I do think one thing he’s let teams know is, for those who have asked about Philip Broberg — who’s hurt right now — and has played very well in the American Hockey League, he’s not going anywhere for a rental.I do believe teams have asked, and I believe the Oilers have made that clear.
It’s no surprise that teams are asking about Broberg. Despite battling an injury right now, he’s appeared in 29 AHL games this season scoring one goal and 19 points. The Condors have him playing in all situations, and as our own Bruce Curlock has raved, Broberg has looked excellent doing so.
The Oilers appear to be positioning themselves as significant players in the trade market, having reported interest in a plethora of names like Jake Guentzel, Jordan Eberle, Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Tanev and Sean Walker. All these players, however, are unrestricted free agents at the end of this season.
There are, however, a number of players with term who could be available this deadline.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has six players with term remaining in his 35 listed trade targets: Philadelphia Flyers centre Scott Laughton, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and defencemen Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist, St. Louis Blues centre Kevin Hayes, and Anaheim Ducks centre Trevor Zegras.
In TSN’s latest trade bait board, released on Feb. 14th, there were 13 players with term left on their deal, including Laughton, Allen, Peeke, Boqvist and Zegras. The others listed were: Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom, Ottawa Senators defenceman Jakob Chychrun, Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich, Washington Captials centre Nic Dowd, San Jose Sharks centre Mikael Granlund, Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson, Flyers centre Morgan Frost, and Pittsburgh Penguins winger Reilly Smith.
With the clock ticking, Holland has his work cut out for him to upgrade this Oilers roster.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
Failed to load video.
Recent articles from Zach Laing
