Philip Broberg Opens Up About Offer Sheet Situation: "I'm Glad It Happened"

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Liam McCormick
October 26, 2024 (3:29 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers lost their top prospect this season when Philip Broberg signed an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues, and now he's opened up on the process.

In a new interview with Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, Broberg confirmed the reports that he was ready to move on from Edmonton to get consistent NHL ice time from another team.

«I'm glad it happened. I had a good time in Edmonton. I enjoyed it. But I think I was ready for a new chapter.

They have a very good D-core in Edmonton. You have Ekholm, great player. Nurse, also a very good player, and Kulak is the same. I had to play a lot on my off side. I've done that a lot in Sweden before, so I'm used to it, but it's different playing the right side on the small ice surface.»
- Philip Broberg

The Edmonton Oilers drafted Broberg 8th overall back in 2019, and all signs pointed to him developing into a star player while with the Oilers organization. He is an exceptional skater for a 6'4 defenceman, a great passer, and has the unteachable gift of offensive ability. Broberg excelled for the Oilers in the AHL last season and was clearly ready to be in the NHL, but he was simply blocked by too many veteran defenceman on the left side.

Feeling that he was ready to make the full time jump to the NHL and that he'd be blocked in Edmonton, Broberg reportedly requested a trade from the Oilers last year. Instead the Oilers tried to hold onto him, but when the opportunity arose to sign a contract for twice as much as Edmonton was offering, Broberg jumped to take the fresh start in St. Louis.

After the offer sheets were resolved entirely, reports surfaced that Ken Holland was instructed by Jeff Jackson to sign Philip Broberg much earlier last year, but for some reason Holland was unable to do so.

Now off to an incredible start with 7 points in 8 games with the Blues, its beginning time look like it may have been a major mistake for the Oilers to let go of Broberg. They may not have been able to match the offer sheet at $4.58M, but to allow him to get to that situation was an abject failure from the Oilers front office. After spending years developing Broberg into a star-level talent, the Oilers won't reap any of the benefits. It certainly stings to hear him now say he was actually excited to leave Edmonton.