Now that the Avalanche have signed Carl Soderberg, where will the Avalanche send Ryan O'Reilly, whose days certainly are numbered now?
Soderberg, who turns 30 in October, signed a five-year, $23.75 million contract Friday, one day after the Avalanche acquired the 6-foot-3, 216-pound center's rights from Boston for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft.
According to various media reports, Soderberg's salaries are for $5 million this season, followed by $4.75 million, $5 million, $5 million and $4 million. His salary cap hit is $4.75 million -- more than a nice deal but still about $2.75 million less than what O'Reilly's agents are asking per year on a contract extension.
According to ESPN.com, Soderberg's deal includes a full no-trade clause for the first two years and a limited no-trade clause for the final three years.
“We are pleased to have Carl signed to a long-term deal,… Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Joe Sakic said in a statement. “He is a solid two-way forward who is big and strong on the puck. He is versatile, can play center or wing, and his addition will also benefit our power play.…
Soderberg would have become an unrestricted free agent next Wednesday, so the Avalanche could have held onto the draft pick and tried to sign him then, but they would have had to get into a bidding war with other teams.
Soderberg, who is from Malmo, Sweden, is a good bet to center a line with fellow Swede and Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. He had 13 goals, 31 assists, 26 penalty minutes and a plus-10 plus/minus rating in 82 games with the Bruins last season.
Soderberg was St. Louis' second-round pick (No. 49) in 2004. The Blues traded his rights to Boston for Hannu Toivonen on July 23, 2007. He had 16 goals, 32 assists, 36 penalty minutes and a plus-4 rating in 73 games with the Bruins in 2013-14, his first full NHL season.
Barring a trade -- O'Reilly? -- the Avalanche have the 10th pick in the NHL draft on Friday. They have picks in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds on Saturday.