The Colorado Avalanche and the Arizona Coyotes have made a trade today. The Avalanche sent forward Carl Soderberg to Arizona. The return from the Coyotes is the defenceman Kevin Connauton and the third round draft pick in 2020. With Carl Soderberg traded it means salary cap relief for Colorado. On the other note, the Coyotes wanted to add a veteran to help at the centre position.
Spell check and fat thumbs today. Connauton and. 3rd for Soderberg. #uncle https://t.co/Xwc72WYrDP
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) 25. júna 2019
Colorado Avalanche Carl Soderberg Traded For Arizona Coyotes Kevin Connauton
Carl Soderberg was originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2004 but hadn’t made it to the NHL until 2013. That time, he made his debut with the Boston Bruins. In 2015, the Swedish centre signed a deal as a restricted free agent with the Avalanche after his trade from Boston. After four seasons in Denver, Soderberg will be making his way to Arizona. He has one year left on his $4,750,000 per campaign deal.
In the past season, the 33-year-old veteran forward has registered 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points. That was just two points shy of his career best set in the 2015-16 season (51 points). In the playoffs, Soderberg added only two helpers for two points, which was a bit of a disappointment for the Avalanche.
Kevin Connauton has participated in 50 games during the past regular season. In those 50 contests, he has gathered one goal and seven assists for eight points. The 29-year-old left-handed defenceman carries a salary cap hit of $1,375,000 until 2020. The Avalanche will already be his fourth NHL team after playing for the Coyotes, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Dallas Stars.
Carl Soderberg Traded by Colorado Avalanche a Necessary Move
With a lot of pending free agents such as Mikko Rantanen, Alexander Kerfoot, J.T. Compher and Nikita Zadorov, the Avalanche needed some cap space. They might have some interest in free agents. The Avalanche still haven’t decided on the future of star defenceman Tyson Barrie, who will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If a trade is in place, Connauton might come in handy.
Carl Soderberg is still a 49-point producer. The Arizona Coyotes had to pay a low price to get him with just one-year left on his contract. The Coyotes can use his veteran leadership and experience at the centre position. Obviously, with absorbing his contract the salary cap situation got a bit tighter ahead of the 2019-20 season for Arizona.
