Broberg Appreciation

[dr0zombie]

THG selected his top picks For the Top NHL Defensemen (40-21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K55gX2OcnF4

Philip Broberg is in there at 27. I like to see THG saying "I cannot deny the advancement of Broberg ". Great to see Broberg being acknowledged as putting in the hard work to quietly become on of the best defensemen in the NHL.

That offer sheet was brilliant! Congrats to Broberg.

[2forDiving]

I think the part lost with Broberg is that he had 34 pts last year and only played about 25 games or so on one of the top 2 PP units. Not to mention the PP has added more depth and talent to the units this offseason. If he picks up where he left off, I honestly believe he can get in the 50 pt range next season. He is an all situation dman now.

[Pierre McGuire]

Still can’t believe Edmonton let him go

[Sudsy 11]

THG selected his top picks For the Top NHL Defensemen (40-21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K55gX2OcnF4

Philip Broberg is in there at 27. I like to see THG saying "I cannot deny the advancement of Broberg ". Great to see Broberg being acknowledged as putting in the hard work to quietly become on of the best defensemen in the NHL.

That offer sheet was brilliant! Congrats to Broberg.

Whether you like him or not, have to give Army credit for the offer sheets. Broberg just continues to get better.

[b-a-a-a-rclay]

His skating ability and poise ... he is just so much fun to watch. He really does deserve a thread like this. We couldn't have asked for a much better individual start to a Blues career.

[Old_Goat]

THG selected his top picks For the Top NHL Defensemen (40-21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K55gX2OcnF4

Philip Broberg is in there at 27. I like to see THG saying "I cannot deny the advancement of Broberg ". Great to see Broberg being acknowledged as putting in the hard work to quietly become on of the best defensemen in the NHL.

That offer sheet was brilliant! Congrats to Broberg.

Whether you like him or not, have to give Army credit for the offer sheets. Broberg just continues to get better.

Yes. Nobody's perfect...occasional hiccups, off game, injury, sure. The Broberg and Holloway offer sheets, extensions and their play have been excellent since day 1 of the announcement.
And actually their play before the offer was excellent in that preceding Playoffs. Never a doubt.

[callitwhatyouwant]

The most exciting part about Broberg is that he legit has skating ability that is highlight reel stuff. If he gets more of a strategic shot, the sky is the limit for the guy. I don't really see him as a danger from the outside, but he creates so many fast break and he himself finds himself in tight a fair amount and he's able to score/point produce in those areas. HIs length on defense is great, he's really good with that 1 hand extension move to break stuff up.

[DawgDad]

The game is played on ice, guys who can skate have a leg or two up on the others. Broberg is a world class athlete, he's good already and he's going to get better.

I very much like the direction the Blues have taken with defenseman prospects, leaning to athletic ability. A not-so-big Lindstein appears to fit this mold, too. Quick feet and puck movement.

[dhsux]

Still can’t believe Edmonton let him go

Yes but can he take over a game?

hahaha

[Backesdraft]

Still can’t believe Edmonton let him go

Yes but can he take over a game?

hahaha

Not that I see it happening but how many heads in Edmonton would explode if the Blues ended up winning a cup with Broberg and Holloway BEFORE Edmonton wins one with McDavid?

[STL fan in MN]

I thought Broberg was an absolute steal for a 2nd rd pick the day Army signed him but he’s far exceeded the expectations I had for him. An absolute fleecing.

And getting Holloway for a 3rd might be an even bigger heist.*

I still can’t believe Edmonton didn’t match them. I can see why they didn’t match Broberg as they would’ve had to have done some pretty major maneuvering to make it work but they got SJ to take Ceci and they still didn’t match either!

Holloway was an easy match IMO. I recall saying the entire time that I would be surprised if they let Holloway go as his cost wasn’t as high and he was worth way way more than a 3rd. They could’ve matched but for whatever reason, didn’t. Maybe they were convinced Holloway just didn’t want to be there so they just cut their losses and moved on? I would’ve matched and then if the player didn’t seem happy, then look to trade him for fair value, not lose him for a 3rd!

I will continue to say that I bet the Oilers likely win the 2025 Cup over Florida if they didn’t screw ho the 2024 off-season as badly as they did. They let all their cheaper youth just walk out the door! Such a horrible self inflicted wound. Signing pretty obviously bad UFAs and thus not leaving enough money to re-sign Broberg, Holloway and McLeod. We talk about the first 2 here a lot but the McLeod trade was really dumb of them too. They traded McLeod to Buffalo for an undersized prospect that had been struggling to overcome the size disadvantage and McLeod instantly leveled up from a 30 pt player to two seasons of 53 and 54 pts for Buffalo. They traded all 3 right before a lot of players really come into their own and finally reach their potential. Edmonton has completely bungled the primes of two of the game’s best forwards - McDavid and Draisaitl.

*yes, I’m aware the Blues also sent EDM an additional 3rd rounder and prospect Paul Fischer to sweeten the pot for them to not match both offer sheets as well as the cost to get our 2025 2nd back (we send the Pens our 2026 2nd and an additional 2025 3rd we had for them to return our 2025 2nd but we also got a 2026 5th rounder so the cost was basically the difference between a 3rd and 5th rd pick). Still an absolute heist.

[Harry York 37]

The most exciting part about Broberg is that he legit has skating ability that is highlight reel stuff. If he gets more of a strategic shot, the sky is the limit for the guy. I don't really see him as a danger from the outside, but he creates so many fast break and he himself finds himself in tight a fair amount and he's able to score/point produce in those areas. HIs length on defense is great, he's really good with that 1 hand extension move to break stuff up.

There is no one more fluid and silently explosive in the league.
He is like a night train. You don’t see the effort, just the excitement.
I admire him for sticking to defense first and, almost invisibly, keeping other teams off the scoreboard..
If he ever decides that it’s time to score more points… he will.

[Frank Barone]

Broberg also played VERY well in the Olympics and moved up the Sweden depth chart as the games went on.

[dhsux]

Let's all keep in mind the OS deal has not really even begun to pan out.

The new blood and result has been great so far but man these two players are just huge for the team to flourish in the years ahead.

[dr0zombie]

I thought Broberg was an absolute steal for a 2nd rd pick the day Army signed him but he’s far exceeded the expectations I had for him. An absolute fleecing.

And getting Holloway for a 3rd might be an even bigger heist.*

I still can’t believe Edmonton didn’t match them. I can see why they didn’t match Broberg as they would’ve had to have done some pretty major maneuvering to make it work but they got SJ to take Ceci and they still didn’t match either!

Holloway was an easy match IMO. I recall saying the entire time that I would be surprised if they let Holloway go as his cost wasn’t as high and he was worth way way more than a 3rd. They could’ve matched but for whatever reason, didn’t. Maybe they were convinced Holloway just didn’t want to be there so they just cut their losses and moved on? I would’ve matched and then if the player didn’t seem happy, then look to trade him for fair value, not lose him for a 3rd!

I will continue to say that I bet the Oilers likely win the 2025 Cup over Florida if they didn’t screw ho the 2024 off-season as badly as they did. They let all their cheaper youth just walk out the door! Such a horrible self inflicted wound. Signing pretty obviously bad UFAs and thus not leaving enough money to re-sign Broberg, Holloway and McLeod. We talk about the first 2 here a lot but the McLeod trade was really dumb of them too. They traded McLeod to Buffalo for an undersized prospect that had been struggling to overcome the size disadvantage and McLeod instantly leveled up from a 30 pt player to two seasons of 53 and 54 pts for Buffalo. They traded all 3 right before a lot of players really come into their own and finally reach their potential. Edmonton has completely bungled the primes of two of the game’s best forwards - McDavid and Draisaitl.

*yes, I’m aware the Blues also sent EDM an additional 3rd rounder and prospect Paul Fischer to sweeten the pot for them to not match both offer sheets as well as the cost to get our 2025 2nd back (we send the Pens our 2026 2nd and an additional 2025 3rd we had for them to return our 2025 2nd but we also got a 2026 5th rounder so the cost was basically the difference between a 3rd and 5th rd pick). Still an absolute heist.

This is a great point to add McLeod into this. It was like a weird pre-cap 80s or 90s scenario where Edmonton loaded up on old talent, but forgot it was the 2020s cap era and you gotta have the $$ for the young guys. I don't know how the Blues got away with it. Let's hope that 2025 future Cup win transferers with Holloway and Broberg.

[blues2112]

I thought Broberg was an absolute steal for a 2nd rd pick the day Army signed him but he’s far exceeded the expectations I had for him. An absolute fleecing.

And getting Holloway for a 3rd might be an even bigger heist.*

I still can’t believe Edmonton didn’t match them. I can see why they didn’t match Broberg as they would’ve had to have done some pretty major maneuvering to make it work but they got SJ to take Ceci and they still didn’t match either!

Holloway was an easy match IMO. I recall saying the entire time that I would be surprised if they let Holloway go as his cost wasn’t as high and he was worth way way more than a 3rd. They could’ve matched but for whatever reason, didn’t. Maybe they were convinced Holloway just didn’t want to be there so they just cut their losses and moved on? I would’ve matched and then if the player didn’t seem happy, then look to trade him for fair value, not lose him for a 3rd!

I will continue to say that I bet the Oilers likely win the 2025 Cup over Florida if they didn’t screw ho the 2024 off-season as badly as they did. They let all their cheaper youth just walk out the door! Such a horrible self inflicted wound. Signing pretty obviously bad UFAs and thus not leaving enough money to re-sign Broberg, Holloway and McLeod. We talk about the first 2 here a lot but the McLeod trade was really dumb of them too. They traded McLeod to Buffalo for an undersized prospect that had been struggling to overcome the size disadvantage and McLeod instantly leveled up from a 30 pt player to two seasons of 53 and 54 pts for Buffalo. They traded all 3 right before a lot of players really come into their own and finally reach their potential. Edmonton has completely bungled the primes of two of the game’s best forwards - McDavid and Draisaitl.

*yes, I’m aware the Blues also sent EDM an additional 3rd rounder and prospect Paul Fischer to sweeten the pot for them to not match both offer sheets as well as the cost to get our 2025 2nd back (we send the Pens our 2026 2nd and an additional 2025 3rd we had for them to return our 2025 2nd but we also got a 2026 5th rounder so the cost was basically the difference between a 3rd and 5th rd pick). Still an absolute heist.

This is a great point to add McLeod into this. It was like a weird pre-cap 80s or 90s scenario where Edmonton loaded up on old talent, but forgot it was the 2020s cap era and you gotta have the $$ for the young guys. I don't know how the Blues got away with it. Let's hope that 2025 future Cup win transferers with Holloway and Broberg.

My bad memory forgets the timing of this. Had McDavid extended at that point? Perhaps Oilers were freeing up cap space? If so, when did management know he'd take a discount?