The St. Louis Blues are thrilled with the development and play of Philip Broberg, but they are yet to begin talks about a contract extension.
Philip Broberg is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season, and he's once again having a solid campaign. Despite that, the St. Louis Blues have not begun contract negotiations.
Teammates and coaches rave about the play of their 24-year-old defenseman, but a recent report from The Athletic suggests that the Blues are willing to take their time in extension talks.
Through 27 games this season, Broberg has notched two goals and 10 points, but the value he brings at both ends of the ice is where he shines. Despite standing 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Broberg is an excellent skater who utilizes his feet to help him defend and jump into the play. His foot speed allows him to start transition offense and make efficient first passes. He can then jump into the rush and create offense.
Defensively, his skating allows him to defend top-end players off the rush, and his size allows him to win puck battles and protect the front of his net. Broberg has developed into a workhorse, all-around defenseman and the Blues are taking notice.
“He’s been incredible for us this year,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “If our record was better, I think people would be talking about him a lot more in the league. If we were playing really good hockey, he would be talked about in the league a lot more. He has been a tremendous hockey player from the start of the year.”
Broberg has been the Blues' best defenseman this season, both by the eye test and analytically. According to Natural Stat Trick, Broberg has been on the ice for 21 Blues goals at 5-on-5 and 19 goals by their opponents. He has the second-highest goals for percentage on the team, trailing just Robert Thomas.
Montgomery is of the belief that those numbers could and should be higher for Broberg.
“But with a little more finishing touch, or a little bit better puck luck, he might have eight goals already,” Montgomery said. “Then you’re really talking about him as an offensive defenseman.”
With all that being said, GM Doug Armstrong has previously illustrated that there is no rush with his contract negotiations, and the team is still demonstrating patience in December.
“There’s no rush with that,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said in October, referring to contract talks with both Broberg and Holloway. “We’re going to try and get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed. The cap’s going up. It’s nice to know, with (other) guys signed, what we can do moving forward. And we can always create space.”
Although patience can pay off, with a young, blossoming defenseman, patience may mean they have to pay him more. He's averaging nearly three minutes more of ice time this season and leads the Blues in average ice time with 23:15.
Thomas Harley signed an eight-year, $10.587-million contract earlier this season with the Dallas Stars, and other defenseman Broberg has been compared with have all eclipsed $8 million. The Blues will likely have to hand out a hefty contract to Broberg, but so far, he's showing he's deserving of it.
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