It is rare for NHL teams to extend offer sheets to restricted free agents, and even in instances where there is an offer sheet, the original team almost always matches the offer to keep the player. However, in the case of Philip Broberg, the Edmonton Oilers elected not to match, and it has been an absolute steal for the St. Louis Blues.
In his first season with the Blues, Broberg had 29 points in 68 games with an average ice time of 20:30 per game and was fourth on the team in blocks with 103, which were all career highs.
This season, his role on this blueline has only grown, and he is clearly a first-pair defenseman with an average of over 23 minutes of ice time per game. That average might only go up as he has been on the ice over 26 minutes in three of the past four games.
The offer sheet the Blues extended Broberg looked to be a risk as it was a two-year deal with an AAV of $4.58 million. It was one of the reasons the Oilers didn't match because they wouldn't be able to fit that into their salary cap.
While it was a risk, Broberg's play has quickly turned the narrative on the contract and it looks like an absolute steal. He is now set to be a restricted free agent after the season, and the Blues need to be aggressive once again with a new deal.
St. Louis Blues should be looking to extend Philip Broberg now and not wait until the end of the season
With the way Broberg has started the season and how much the Blues have leaned on him, his contract demands are only going to go up as the season goes along. The decision to extend him now doesn't have as much to do with the fear of losing him as a restricted free agent, as there is certainly that chance, as the Oilers found out, but more so to try to find common ground on a reasonable long-term deal.
Broberg has earned a significant raise, and the starting point is probably close to $8 million, but for a top defenseman, who seemingly is only getting better, this is a bargain. When taking into account the increase in the salary cap across the league, the next few years, it is a deal that can only look better as the seasons go along.
The St. Louis Blues are a team that the rest of the league seems to be watching closely because they could be the first team to jump into a full rebuild. They may look to move some of their players to build for the future, but Broberg can't be made available.
It might even seem counterintuitive to extend a player when a team looks like it could be heading to a rebuild. However, Philip Broberg has shown enough to warrant a long-term commitment from the Blues and if Doug Armstrong is smart, he won't wait to get that done.