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Soderberg traded for Connauton, pick; Andrighetto becomes UFA |
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Rick Sadowski
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In what certainly appears to be a salary dump and opportunity to clear cap space, the Avalanche on Tuesday traded center Carl Soderberg to the Arizona Coyotes for defenseman Kevin Connauton and a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft.
Soderberg, 33, is entering the final year of a five-year contract with a $4.75 million cap hit. Connauton, 29, has a $1.375 million cap hit in the final year of his deal.
The Avalanche have nearly $39 million in cap space now, according to capfriendly.com.
“I’d like to thank Carl for everything he has done for the Avalanche both on and off the ice,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. “This trade allows some of our young centermen to have a chance to play a more prominent role on our team while adding an experienced defenseman to our roster.”
Soderberg scored a career-high 23 goals last season, finishing with 49 points in 82 games. He had two assists in 12 playoff games. Soderberg had 151 points (57 goals, 94 assists) in 321 games with Colorado in four seasons since his June 25, 2015 trade from the Boston Bruins.
“Carl is a versatile, 200-foot player who has a history of being productive and playing tough minutes," Coyotes general manager John Chayka said. "He will be a stabilizer in our lineup and gives our coaching staff lots of flexibility."
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Connauton had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 50 games with Arizona last season. A third-round pick (No. 83) of Vancouver in 2009, he has 76 points (27 goals, 49 assists) in 310 career games with Dallas, Columbus and the Coyotes.
Connauton had career highs in games (73), goals (11) and points (21) with the Coyotes in 2017-18.
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Forward Sven Andrighetto was one of four players who became unrestricted free agents when, as restricted free agents, they weren’t tendered qualifying offers.
The others are minor leaguers goalie Spencer Martin, defenseman Mason Geertsen and forward Julien Nantel.
Andrighetto, 26, had 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 64 games last season. He didn’t have a point in five playoff games. Acquired from Montreal for Andreas Martinsen on March 1, 2017, Andrighetto had 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 133 games with the Avalanche, with one goal in 11 playoff games.
The Avalanche tendered qualifying offers to restricted free agents Mikko Rantanen, Alexander Kerfoot, J.T. Compher, Nikita Zadorov, Vladislav Kamenev, Ryan Graves, A.J. Greer, Dominic Toninato, Sheldon Dries, Sergei Boikov and Anton Lindholm.
Semyon Varlamov, Patrik Nemeth, Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque and Derick Brassard will officially become unrestricted free agents July 1.
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