It's possible Avalanche center Carl Soderberg could miss the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series games against Ottawa at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm this weekend.
Soderberg, who is one of four Swedish-born players on the Avalanche, didn't travel with the team to Stockholm on Monday night, instead flying from New York to Denver to be with his wife, Caroline, who was due to give birth to their second child Tuesday.
Hopefully, all goes well and he'll be able to get to Stockholm for one or both of the back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. Soderberg is from Malmo, Sweden.
Rookie defenseman Samuel Girard is expected to join the team Tuesday. He was acquired Sunday from Nashville in the three-team trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Senators.
Another rookie defenseman, Anton Lindholm, sustained a broken jaw Saturday against Philadelphia and will be sidelined indefinitely. He's from Skelleftea, Sweden.
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Avalanche rookie forward Alexander Kerfoot is writing a blog for NHL.com during the team's trip to Sweden. FIRST INSTALLMENT.
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Duchene arrived in Ottawa on Sunday night, had a news conference Monday morning and practiced with his new team. He skated on a line with Zack Smith and Mike Hoffman.
Duchene wasn't able to keep the No. 9 jersey he wore with the Avalanche because Bobby Ryan has the digit, and the No. 19 he's worn in international competition to honor Avalanche Hall of Famer and current general manager Joe Sakic is taken by Derick Brassard.
Duchene grew up an Avalanche fan, but the 95 isn't in homage to the team's first season (1995-96) in Denver.
“I wore No. 5 growing up and I wore No. 9 as a kid, so I put them together," he told reporters. "I think it’s a little bit different, maybe a little flashier than I wanted to go, but I felt like it’s something that gets me back to my roots as a kid. Hopefully, it goes with me well.…
ICYMI @Matt9Duchene and @Senators GM Pierre Dorion show off new jersey. pic.twitter.com/p5uFFYHEEX
— Rick Sadowski (@RickS7) November 6, 2017
The Avalanche acquired Girard, forward Vladislav Kamenev and a 2018 second-round draft pick from Nashville, which received center Kyle Turris from Ottawa. The Avalanche also got forward Shane Bowers, goalie Andrew Hammond, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2019 third-round selection from the Senators.
The first-round pick is top 10-protected. If the Senators somehow wind up with a top 10 pick -- highly unlikely -- they'd keep it and the Avalanche would get their first-rounder in 2019.
Sakic is generally getting rave reviews for the four-player, three-draft pick haul for Duchene, who requested a trade around Christmas last year, but how the acquisitions and draft picks turn out won't be known for several years.
Girard, 19, is a slick skating defenseman who was Nashville's second-round pick (No. 46) in 2016. He has a goal and two assists in five NHL games this season.
Kamenev, 21, was Nashville's second-round pick (No. 42) in 2014. He has three goals and five assists in 10 games with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. He's joined the AHL San Antonio Rampage.
Bowers, 18, was Ottawa’s first-round pick (No. 28) in 2017. He has four goals and two assists in 10 games as a freshman at Boston University.
Hammond, 29, is 2-2-1-1 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .925 save percentage with the AHL Belleville Senators.
“We’re trying to build this up and get younger and have our kids grow together,… Sakic said. “So that we, hopefully sooner than later, are competing for playoffs and Stanley Cups.…
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Duchene, 26, told reporters during his introductory news conference that he asked Sakic for a trade for an opportunity to play for a playoff team. Duchene grew up an Avalanche fan, idolized Sakic and Patrick Roy, and was ecstatic when they drafted him.
But the Avalanche, who by midseason were on the way to plummeting to 22 wins and 48 points, have missed the postseason three years in a row and in six of Duchene's first eight seasons in Colorado.
“Asking for a trade out of Colorado, from Joe Sakic, who was my idol as a kid, was the hardest thing I ever had to do,… said Duchene, who was the Avalanche's first-round pick (No. 3) in 2009. “It was something I sat on for a long time. Last year when it happened, it was around the time I saw the writing on the wall as far as the future of that franchise in terms of the rest of my contract.
"We had a horrific year last year and I could see a rebuild coming. It was something I had been a part of multiple times and I just couldn’t do it."
Like the Avalanche, Duchene also had a horrible season. He scored three goals in his final 33 games and ended with 18 goals (and 23 assists) after scoring a career-high 30 goals the year before.
"I wanted to play playoff hockey," he said. "I’ve got eight playoff games to my name right now and that’s not where I want to be at this point of my career. I only get one shot at this. I get to play this game for however long my body lets me play it and I felt I wanted to let Joe know it was time to move on.…
His and the team's woes, coupled with the constant trade rumors, wore on Duchene.
"Last year was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in terms of being on a hockey team when we went so far down the drain," he said. "I struggled. I was dealing with this stuff. It was a maturity process, a learning process and I think something that has made me stronger. I feel like if I can handle that I can handle anything at this point.
“To be here with this team that I believe in a lot already, it’s very special. There’s going to be an adjustment period. I just want to bring my best to this team and hopefully be part of a long playoff run.…
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Avalanche players wished Duchene the best, but they're also relieved that the "elephant in the room," as Nathan MacKinnon put it, has been removed.
“Our No. 1 focus is on the guys who want to be here,… captain Gabriel Landeskog told reporters. "It is hard to deal with sometimes for the guys who are here and put their heart and soul into this team and want to find a solution. Matt had his opinions and reasons. But for the guys who are here, we want to win and turn things around for this team.…
Defenseman Erik Johnson wasn't as diplomatic, though he did credit Duchene for working hard and being professional about the situation.
“He didn’t want to be a Colorado Avalanche anymore,… Johnson told BSN Denver. “The fact that he didn’t want to be a player for the team anymore, I think guys in the room were kind of waiting for (a trade) to happen too. We all want to play for this team and win in Denver, and he wanted to go somewhere else. That’s his right, but now we have the group in the room that we’re all going to be pulling on the same rope, in the same direction.
“For a guy who didn’t want to be here, he showed up every day and worked hard and had a good attitude. But at the end of the day, we all want to play for the Colorado Avalanche and do great things here. And he didn’t.…