If the Edmonton Oilers reel in a big fish before Friday's NHL Trade Deadline, promising young defenseman Philip Broberg might need to be a part of the return going the other way.
When it comes to securing the big targets at the NHL Trade Deadline, teams have to pay a significant premium, as it's the most marked-up that players get due to the desperation buying teams have to add to their groups before the playoffs start.
It's easy to see why a rebuilding team would take great interest in acquiring Broberg. He's six-foot-three with high-end skating ability, making him the exact type of defenseman that playoff teams often build their units around.
Given his mobility and range, the former eighth overall pick could do well when given an opportunity to sink or swim at the NHL level. This opportunity is not one that the Oilers can afford to give him at the moment, given their status as contenders and the important nature of every game they play.
The Oilers have been a disaster defensively in the past, but last season's trade deadline acquisition of Mattis Ekholm and the emergence of Evan Bouchard have the team looking as strong as they have in the Connor McDavid-era in that regard.
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NHL Trade Deadline: Philip Broberg
Contract Situation: RFA after this season at $863,333 cap hit
Season Stats: 0 points in 10 games played
Possible Destinations: Anaheim, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Ottawa, Buffalo
While Broberg has seen limited action with the big club in Edmonton this season, the 22-year-old has torn up the AHL with 19 points in 30 games and a +12 rating for the Bakersfield Condors.
Several teams in the midst of tearing down and rebuilding their rosters would be wise to take a flier on Broberg, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, who seem explicit in their desire to add young roster players as part of their selling process instead of focusing exclusively on draft picks.
The Buffalo Sabres are another group who should be interested, given their years-long struggle when it comes to icing a competent defensive unit.
Arizona, Ottawa, and Anaheim are also among the selling teams with exciting groups of young forwards that are in need of defensemen in the big picture.
If any of those teams can walk away with Broberg as a member of their young core and then develop him properly, it would be a big win for them and their process of building toward contention status.
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