Desharnais Injury Concern Opens Door For Recall

Caleb Kerney

Mar 17, 2024, 21:35

Caleb Kerney

Mar 17, 2024, 21:35

If Vincent Desharnais is going to miss any number of games, the Edmonton Oilers have an obvious choice for a recall.

EDMONTON -- "Hopefully it's nothing major and we're just being cautious."

Those were the words of Kris Knoblauch during his post game comments in the wake of the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night.

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He was of course talking about defenseman Vincent Desharnais - who was potentially injured in his fight with Avalanche defender Josh Manson.

Official confirmation should come today, or at the latest at practice tomorrow. There were some unconfirmed rumblings on Twitter today, that suggest Desharnais will miss a few games. If Desharnais is going to miss any time, the Oilers would be best served to recall a defenseman from the Bakersfield Condors.

Enter Philip Broberg.

Broberg got a cup of coffee of NHL time to open the season. He played 10 games - averaging 10:32 of ice time with zero points. On December 7th he was loaned to the Condors to play significant minutes and shake off any potential rust that resulted from him being a healthy scratch more often than not.

He's certainly finding his form on the farm - with 23 points in 36 games. He's playing in every situation and contributing to the team winning. He's also shooting quite a bit, with 81 shots fired at the net. That's an average of 2.25 shots on goal per game.

Because they have a healthy Troy Stecher - they can't use an emergency recall to bring up Broberg. They would only be able to do that if they had less than six healthy defensemen on their roster.

However, to maintain a balance of lefties with righties, recalling Broberg is the best option available.

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