According to Chris Johnston, Writer/Insider at Sportsnet, the Colorado Avalanche have landed pending unrestricted free agent center Carl Soderberg from the Boston Bruins. Reports are coming out that the Bruins have received a 2016 6th-round pick, and it does not have any conditions.
The #avs have acquired the rights to impending free-agent Carl Soderberg.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 25, 2015
Soderberg, 29, played in just his second full season with the Bruins last year and recorded 44 points in 82 games. His point production was down from the previous season, going from 0.66 points per game to 0.54. He did improve his total defensive points produced from 1.1 last season to 1.9 this season, but saw his offense points produced take a major dip, from 4.3 to 2.6. In total, the Malmo-native center has played in 161 career games and has recorded 29 goals and 65 assists.
After last season, reports came out that Soderberg was seeking a contract of $5 million on a multi-year deal. After the 2009-10 season, Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec signed a similar deal, a six-year, $30 million deal on a salary cap of $59.4 million. In a significant increase to $71.4, a contract of $5 million is considerably less, even if Soderberg has just two years of NHL experience. The problem for the Bruins wasn’t their evaluation or lack of desire to sign him, but rather their inability to offer him a deal due to their constraints on the cap. Almost up to the cap already, General Manager Don Sweeney still has restricted free agent Dougie Hamilton to consider, and sooner rather than later as an offer sheet would cause massive re-structuring in a short amount of time.
For Colorado, if they can get Soderberg signed to a deal before July 1st, it would appear that Ryan O’Reilly’s days as a member of the Avalanche are nearing an end. The 24-year-old left-handed center has been subject of many trade rumors over the last couple of seasons, mainly due to salary demands and the production rate he is providing not meeting up to those demands.
More details to follow.
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