The Bruins won’t re-sign Carl Soderberg, does he fit with the Canucks?
8 years ago
Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports
Barring something major, the Vancouver Canucks are going to be pressed up against the uncertain upper limit of the NHL’s salary cap this summer. That doesn’t mean we’re in for a quiet off-season though.
In consecutive summers Canucks general manager Jim Benning has been at the centre of some massive transactions. From the Tyler Seguin deal (which Benning advocated for in Boston’s pro-meetings that June), to the Jason Garrison and Ryan Kesler trades, the frank Canucks executive has shown ingenuity in creating salary cap space on the trade market and a willingness to ask highly paid players to waive their no-trade clauses.
Based on the club’s balance sheet and their posture we might reasonably expect the club to be in for a quiet offseason. Based on Benning’s usual modus operandi though, we also shouldn’t be shocked if they’re in the middle of the action once again on the draft floor. And if the club can clear the requisite space, should they pursue Boston Bruins centre Carl Soderberg?
Soderberg is a 29-year-old centreman who has two full seasons of NHL experience under his belt. The Swedish-born forward joined the NHL late in his career, after lighting up the Elitserien/SHL through his mid-20s. He’s big (he’s listed at 6-foot-3 and over 215 pounds), he’s produced even-strength offense at a second-line rate and he probably has more defensive than offensive value. He’s also good at directing Traffic.
Perhaps most importantly, Soderberg is likely to be available this summer, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. From a recent Friedman appearance on Sportsnet 590 the Fan (transcript courtesy Chris Nichols and todaysslapshot.com):
The other one I heard was that Carl Soderberg, who’s the center for the Bruins, is not going to be re-signed. I said ‘unlikely’ to re-sign because things always change. But it’s extremely unlikely. And teams are going to be looking for free agent centers.He had some issues last year dealing with some of the top lines in the league, but he still had 36 even strength points. That’s how many Claude Giroux, Jason Spezza and Phil Kessel had. That’s a pretty interesting number to me.
Friedman added that he could see the Bruins shopping Soderberg’s signing rights before July 1.
Soderberg’s agent JP Barry, who also represents the Sedin twins, Mike Santorelli, and Yannick Weber, told Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe that the Bruins informed him that they “can’t make (Soderberg) an offer at this juncture.”
The unrestricted free agent market is going to be shallow this July, and Soderberg’s size, relative youth, and position will conspire to make him a premium asset.
It won’t be easy for a team facing Vancouver’s salary cap issues to add a bigger ticket item like the 29-year-old Swedish centre, and they should be leery of committing too much term to a player that turns 30 in the fall. If the Canucks the can move out the requisite money, Soderberg would represent a solid secondary addition, he’d further bolster the club’s depth down the middle, and he could be a near-perfect foil to the more offensively-oriented Nick Bonino.
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