Carl Soderberg
Position: Center
Goals: 11
Assists: 14
Age: 32
Center Carl Soderberg does not have a friendly contract. He has two years left at $4.75 million. For that reason, I hardly ever mentioned him as a trade possibility — until the other day. It seemed the Pittsburgh Penguins were sniffing around him.
Well, the Penguins ended up acquiring Derick Brassard in a three-team deal that you need a schematic to understand. However, the New York Islanders also gave up a third-rounder for Brandon Davidson, a big-ish defenseman who’s not known for getting a lot of playing time.
I could see Soderberg being a big veteran presence as a fourth-line center looking to stay tough through the grind of a Cup run. Soderberg might not wow with offense, but he’s also not breakable — which is saying a lot when you’re playing gritty playoff hockey.
The Avalanche would likely have to retain some salary. However, they have the space. If they could get a third-rounder for him, I’d account it worthwhile.