While potentially further setting themselves up for an extremely busy weekend, the Colorado Avalanche have acquired the rights to soon-to-be free agent center Carl Soderberg in exchange for a 6th round selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. That selection had been previously acquired by the Avalanche at the trade deadline as part of a package in exchange for forward Max Talbot.
Soderberg, 29, is set to become a free agent next Wednesday when unrestricted free agency opens up was reportedly set to seek a contract averaging $5 million-per-year in free agency. The Avalanche will look to settle on a long-term contract with Soderberg before he hits the open market next week.
He is coming off a season in which he tallied 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) while appearing in all 82 games. Soderberg is more of a defensively-minded center than major point scorer but is the kind of big body Head Coach Patrick Roy prefers at 6’3″, 216-pounds. Soderberg was originally a second round selection of the St. Louis Blues (49th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft but never appeared in a Blues uniform. He was traded to Boston in 2007 in exchange for Hanno Toivonen.
While not a big-time point producer, Soderberg is an established complementary player who plays the kind of heavy game Roy is looking for from his Avalanche squad and should he stay in Colorado would provide them with a center capable of taking tough defensive zone assignments, freeing up the more offensively inclined players such as Matt Duchene to capitalize on a surplus of offensive zone starts.
This move comes with rumors swirling around Ryan O’Reilly’s potential contract demands being too rich for the Avalanche brass’ blood. The acquisition of Soderberg the day before the NHL Entry Draft potentially sets the table for the team to move on from O’Reilly and could signal a shakeup in the team’s core as they look to acquire a significant number of assets for the 24-year old O’Reilly, including their well-publicized desire for a left-handed defensemen to play alongside Erik Johnson.
Regardless of whether or not the Avalanche move O’Reilly before or even during the draft, it’s safe to say Colorado has made themselves a team to watch on the eve of the draft.
