Trouble in paradise as former 8th overall pick wants out of Edmonton

Yesterday, reports surfaced that the Edmonton Oilers had granted once highly-touted defensive prospect Philip Broberg permission to speak with other teams about finding a trade. Those reports did not sit well with Oilers general manager Ken Holland and he discredited those reports with TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

Rishaug also reached out to Broberg's agent, Derrin Ferris, who also represents Leafs winger Mitch Marner. Ferris had this to say about the situation and Broberg's time as an Oiler:




This appears to be a "he said, he said" situation with both sides offering their own version of the events as they have interpreted them. For Broberg, a change of scenery would be a welcomed change as the former 8th overall pick from 2019 has struggled to crack the Oilers roster full time. Clearly Broberg and his agent are frustrated with how the Oilers have handled his development and have continuously gone with veteran defensemen any time there has been a void to fill on the left side of the blueline. With Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak all ahead of him on the left side of the depth chart, and signed for at least the next 3 seasons, Broberg's path to a full-time NHL role appears to be blocked yet again.

Since being drafted, Broberg has played just 79 games for the Oilers and has not really been put in a position to succeed. As a result, he has put up just 11 points over his young NHL career. The 22-year-old is entering the final year of his entry-level contract that sees him carry a cap hit of $863K for the season.