St. Louis Blues Had To Add Philip Broberg To Their Defensive Core – Hockey Writers – St Louis Blues

On August 12, i St.Louis Blues sent the contribution sheet to the Edmonton Oilers for forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg. Broberg’s offer sheet included an average annual value (AAV) deal of approximately $4.6 million over two years, while the Oilers would receive a second-round pick as compensation. As for Holloway, his deal was worth an AAV of $2.3 million over two years, while the Oilers would receive a third option as compensation.

After the Oilers failed to match offered on August 20, the Blues received both players. The important asset between these two acquisitions is Broberg, and that’s why.

Blues Fix Their Aging Defensive Problem

The Blues’ key defensive players are over 30 and have no-trade clauses (NTCs) in their contracts. However, to keep them in the list prevents opening to promote new opportunities for self-defense. While adding Broberg for $4.6 million over two years sounds like another hole in the Blues’ salary cap, it’s not as bad as other defenseman contracts the Blues already have and makes sense considering they’re getting a young defenseman.

Related: Blues Add Oilers’ Broberg & Holloway Expected Changes for 2024-25 Season

In 2027, defensemen Torey Krug and Justin Faulk will be unrestricted free agents (UFAs), and the Blues will free up $13 million in cap space if they let both of them go. However, by 2025, both NTCs will become modified non-trade clauses (M-NTCs) with a list of 15 parties to which they cannot be sold without their agreement. In 2026, defenseman Nick Leddy will again be a UFA, opening up $4 million in cap space; he also has the M-NTC which starts in 2025 with a list of 16 teams that cannot be sold to. That said, the Blues could use the remaining cap to cover Broberg’s 2025-26 contract and even re-sign him if they want more money after his contract expires after 2025-26.

The Blues, on a separate accord, the hope of protection is sold Paul Fischer and a 2028 third-round draft pick to the Oilers for future consideration. This means that the Blues have opened up some space for the future of their defensive system and allowed some space for Broberg in the main roster. The Blues didn’t give up much in that trade; Well, Fischer he showed promise at the 2024 World Minority Expo. The trade gave the Blues a pick to compensate for Holloway and allowed space in the Blues’ defensive depth.

Another Piece to Add to Special Teams

Last season, the Blues lacked depth on their special teams. Defensively, they didn’t have the right equipment. Most of the pressure seemed to be there top sentence-murder and a shot-blocking defender Colton Parayko as the rest of the main part could not produce or contribute as much.

Although the team had 250 power play chances and ranked 13th in the league last season, they only scored 45 goals. Sure, they have Krug, who is known for scoring 20 to 30 points, but his injury again working slowly to reach that point in the power play score, seems to get worse over time. The last time Krug scored 20 to 30 points on the power play was in 2019-20 when he recorded 28 points.

Broberg isn’t a power play staple, but, at 23 years old, with a new team and program, he has potential to grow. I think the Blues can give him a fresh start to reignite his rocky career — he currently has 13 career points in 81 games in the NHL — and give him the playing time he needs to improve. After all, he is a great skater and can be very useful offensively when he attacks on the power play.

On the penalty kill last season, Broberg was on the defensive 51.6 percent, just above the league average of 50.4 percent. Even though his sample is small (12 games), it is a respectable number.

Blues Get Top 10 Draft Pick

Broberg was selected eighth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, a draft class that included Jack HughesCole Caufield, Matt Boldy, Moritz Seider, and Trevor Zegras. With the Blues, Broberg can prove why he deserves to be chosen among those big names.

Before the draft, he played 89 games on loan between 2019–20 and 2020–21 with the Swedish Hockey League’s (SHL) Skellefteå AIK, where he recorded 21 points. Broberg got his first chance to play in the North American professional division, playing with the Oilers in 2021-22. He was then sent to the AHL (American Hockey League), where he played with the Oilers organization Bakersfield Condors, recording 23 points in 31 games, showing more promising results at the North American professional level than in Sweden.

He was also sent to Bakersfield in 2022-23 for seven games and recorded four points. That season, he played in 46 games with the Oilers and recorded just eight points. Last season, Broberg played 12 games with the Oilers before returning to Bakersfield (he was later called up to the Oilers), playing in 49 games with 38 points.

The Oilers made the mistake of bringing Broberg to the NHL too soon and that may be due to expectations put on his shoulders as a top-10 draft pick. However, it doesn’t mean the Blues got the player, as his AHL numbers are still good. I think if worst comes to worst, the Blues can add him to their AHL Springfield Thunderbirds roster to play in an area that is more comfortable with his game and eventually call him up when he’s trending in a good position.

When the Blues Go from Here Defensively

Broberg won’t be a solid player overnight, and it will take time for him to adjust to the Blues’ shutdown defensive style. However, the roster has several smart offensive and defensive players to back him up. He’s a two-way defender, so I see him as a good fit on the roster, considering there are two other talented defensive players like Faulk and Leddy for him to learn from.

In the meantime, the Blues will have to work with their squad for the upcoming 2024-25 season and build Broberg around them.