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Avalanche trade Carl Soderberg to Coyotes for Kevin Connauton

By Dave Stevenson

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 08: Carl Soderberg #34 of the Colorado Avalanche skates up ice with control of the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 8, 2019 in San Jose, California. The Sharks won the game 3-2. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 08: Carl Soderberg #34 of the Colorado Avalanche skates up ice with control of the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 8, 2019 in San Jose, California. The Sharks won the game 3-2. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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According to Darren Dreger, the Arizona Coyotes are expected to trade defenseman Kevin Connauton and a 2020 third round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for center Carl Soderberg.

The Arizona Coyotes have been looking to shed a defenseman from their roster while adding some more offense. They’ve done just that with a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. According to Darren Dreger, the Avs will trade center Carl Soderberg to the Coyotes for defenseman Kevin Connauton. The return will also involve Arizona sending a draft pick to Colorado. It will be a 2020 third rounder.

Connauton is a defenseman who has played in 310 games over six NHL seasons split between the Coyotes, Dallas Stars, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Last season, he played in 50 games, putting up eight points.

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Meanwhile, Soderberg had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018-19. He scored a career-high 23 goals and put up 49 points, the second-highest total of his career in 82 games. Soderberg has played in 482 games over seven seasons split between Colorado and the Boston Bruins.

Soderberg has a salary of $4 million and a cap hit of $4.75 million with one year left on his deal. Meanwhile, Connauton has one year left on his deal with a $1.375 million cap hit. Now, let’s take a look at the trade from both sides.

Avalanche

This trade is far more interesting for Colorado, so let’s go with them first. I’m not sure why they’re moving Soderberg unless they’re clearing up cap space. Which is interesting because the Avalanche currently have a ton of it. Also, Soderberg is their second-line center (though Alexander Kerfoot could easily fill that role as well).

Put those two pieces together and one has to think Colorado’s looking to get a pretty significant upgrade at forward. It’s probably not Artemi Panarin, but Joe Pavelski would make a ton of sense for them.

We’ll have to see what Colorado does with their cap space. It better be something good though, because if it isn’t, this move is a bit baffling.

Coyotes

The Coyotes have a pretty full blueline. Trading Connauton makes it far less crowded and they managed to get a decent center too in Soderberg. I wouldn’t expect him to score 23 goals again, but somewhere in the 15 to 20 range seems reasonable.

This likely takes them out of the running for Pavelski (who they’ve had talks with) and Matt Duchene unless they move another contract.

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Verdict

At first glance, this trade might seem like a fairly insignificant one. But if you read between the lines, it could mean big things are coming for Colorado. It wouldn’t make sense for them to give up a decent player like Soderberg for a draft pick and a third-pairing defenseman unless they have bigger plans.

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