Intriguing Update on Oilers' Philip Broberg Trade Talks

Since he was a first-round pick, No. 8 overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg has never really found his place on the team. He's back in the AHL right now with the Bakersfield Condors, but he could quite likely find himself as an important trade asset for the big club in the near future. 

He's faring extremely well in Bakersfield, logging a whopping 25 to 27 minutes a night, while posting a plus/minus of +5 in just eight games, with four points to boot. With Edmonton this season he was scoreless in 10 games with a minus-2.

NHL Insider Darren Dreger calls it a "curious situation" while offering an intriguing update on how the Oilers could be approaching trade talks around Broberg:

He wants to get back into the NHL, but that's not likely in Edmonton... So trade seems the most likely, but here's an interesting twist: Maybe it's not just Broberg for an asset coming back... Maybe Broberg becomes the sweetener so they can also move Jack Campbell's contract to free up a little cap space. 

So Broberg is a commodity and it seems like that commodity is growing higher day by day.

The 22-year-old holds only an $863,000 cap hit, and becomes a restricted free agent after the season. In 79 total NHL games, he has 11 points and a minus-4.

As for Campbell, he has a massive cap hit of $5M for four more seasons, including this one. The beleaguered netminder continues to struggle in the AHL, however, posting a 3.46 goals against and an .888 save percentage. Granted, those numbers are better than his atrocious 4.50 GAA and .873 Sv% in the five games he started for Edmonton at the beginning of the season. 

If Broberg can be the impetus for the Oilers to get out from under Campbell's weighty contract, then the young D-man does indeed have great value. 

Photo: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sport