In yesterday’s post, I talked about a potentially disastrous scenario where the Edmonton Oilers could find themselves in a position where they would need to re-sign Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, and Evan Bouchard in the same off-season and it was pointed out to me by the famed comments section contributor in the Oilogosphere, Original Pouzar, that the Oilers wouldn’t need to worry about that because all three of those players’ deals will expire in a staggered fashion.
Samorukov’s has already kicked in, so his contract with expire in two seasons, OP believes that Bouchard will start his this season, so he’ll have three more years on his ELC remaining, and the countdown will start on Broberg’s in 2021-22 (maybe) and running out in four years (maybe).
So yeah, I kinda air-balled that one. That said, in my defense, I was simply pointing out that the Oilers could be in a very mucky predicament if their big RFAs all had outstanding seasons and were worthy of getting locked up to long-term deals.
What I really messed up on was the players I used. I should’ve used Caleb Jones and Jesse Puljujarvi, whose contracts are up in two years like Samorukov. We might be adding Ethan Bear to that list too.
As Original Pouzar pointed out in that comments section discussion, all teams have handfuls of RFAs that they need to re-sign, I simply feel like not a lot of clubs have the (potential) quality of players needing to be re-upped at the same time.
It’s an unlikely scenario, but I still believe it shouldn’t be glossed over.
Now getting to someone who might have to admit they were wrong…
Mike Zanier (PxP man in the SHL) said that he thinks Philip Broberg will be a #5/6 dman in the NHL.
Does Broberg himself agree?#Oilershttps://t.co/aM8kfxp6Rz pic.twitter.com/7gdF93JBzx
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) November 10, 2020
What Zanier also said on Oilers Now was that he didn’t think that the offense will translate for Broberg in the NHL.
I don’t know about that.
I feel like Broberg is going to be the stud Edmonton has been looking for on defence for such a long time. He makes mistakes and dumb plays from time to time, but he’s got the hockey IQ to make up for that. I mean, do you remember what Paul Coffey’s nickname was early in his career with the Oilers? “Cough it up’ Coffey… Paul also had a pretty good partner in Edmonton by the name of Charlie Huddy.
Maybe Ethan Bear is this generation’s Huddy? Maybe the Oilers play him with Broberg when the time comes? Maybe a superstar is born? Who knows?
Now, I’m not comparing a legend like Paul Coffey to Philip Broberg, I’m just saying that offensive defenders are prone to mistakes partially because they have the puck a lot and they’re trying to make plays happen. This kind of player desperately needs the right d-partner to maximize potential and success though…
I have seen comparisons to Darnell Nurse and I’m sorry, I can’t see that at all. Broberg makes things happen in the offensive zone, he’s not just a hammer looking for a nail. Now, both players are fast and skate well, but Broberg is a much much better skater and playmaker. Overall, the Swede’s offensive game outshines Nurse’s in my opinion, but Nurse’s defensive contributions are obviously better at the moment.
Bringing it all back full circle, what if Broberg finishes his year in Sweden and joins the Oilers for the latter portion of their season? Will his ELC kick in a year earlier alongside Evan Bouchard’s? Maybe two and three years from now, we’re going to be talking about the Oilers, in the same manner, we are the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hopefully, because they’ve won a Stanley Cup and not so much because they’re in salary cap hell.
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