Victor Söderström Joins the Boston Bruins + Pavel Zacha Trade Buzz Explained

Victor Söderström Joins the Boston Bruins + Pavel Zacha Trade Buzz Explained

in acquiring Victor Soderstrom from the Chicago Blackhawks and signing him to a oneyear contract the Bruins might have pulled off what could become the most underrated move of the off season you’re Locked on Bruins your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day what is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast i’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke beat today is Monday June 16th thank you so much for making Lockdown Bruins your first listen every day it’s part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day and today we are going to discuss the trade for and signing of defenseman Victor Sodestrom over the weekend going to break down why this was such a smart play by GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office scouting staff we’ll break down Soderstrom’s trajectory after being drafted 11th overall in 2019 and why he is u being targeted by this team and we’ll also discuss David Apostern Pavl Zaka being named to the initial roster for Czecha for the Olympics and also whether or not Pavl Zaka will be a Bruin next season based on a recent mock draft in the Athletic which floated a trade involving the Vancouver Conucks before we get into all that a quick reminder you can find the podcast on social media locked NHL Bruins and you can find me my hockey thoughts and dad jokes Ian C McLaren i am a lifelong Boston Bruins fan and I’ve been covering this team and the hockey world at large for about 20 years now so on Friday night my wife and I dropped our youngest son at a trampoline park for a birthday party decided to head over to Chick-fil-A for dinner and while there the news dropped that the Boston Bruins had acquired Victor Sodestrom from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defensive prospect Ryan Mast and a seventh round pick at the upcoming 2025 draft when you dig into the details this was a classic buy low move with the potential to pay off in a big way i wasn’t super familiar with Sodarstrom’s story and even his profile prior to this trade i had heard that he had been acquired by the Blackhawks just before this year’s trade deadline from the Arizona Coyotes but the more I dug into it the more I saw some real value potential here and it’s the kind of deal that you just love to see so many times we’ve talked about the Bruins failures at the draft and an inability to get some you know first round picks they traded a bunch away um a couple years ago they traded Eric Howa for Pavo Zaka who was like sixth overall in 2015 now they have traded essentially what was a sixthround pick in 2021 and a seventh round pick this year for a guy that was drafted 11th overall back in 2019 now yes there are reasons why he has not hit as others have from that draft and we’ll discuss that in a little bit here but giving up minimal assets a depth defensive prospect unlikely to let’s be honest ever play for the Boston Bruins plus a late round pick which is a total crapshoot also unlikely to hit they acquire the 11th overall pick from the 2019 draft who’s a mobile right shot defenseman with clear NHL tools the upside here just far outweighs the cost even if Sodrom doesn’t work out it’s a huge shrug because you’re giving up Ryan Mast again no disrespect but unlikely to crack the NHL probably a career minor leaguer or over in Europe who knows and a seventh round pick that you know the track record of seventh round picks becoming value assets at the NHL level is not great so the upside here far outweighs the cost and the Bruins have some decisions to make on the right side and they’re pretty light on the right side uh they did acquire Henry Yoki Haru from the Buffalo Sabres after trading Brandon Carlo to kind of offset that but even with Charlie Makavoy healthy it’s pretty thin with uh him Andrew Peak you know Ian Mitchell if Henry Yoki Haru is not going to resign um then you have a guy like Sodrom who can come in at just $775,000 on a two wheel two-way deal with arguably more long-term upside and in a tight cap environment Boston seems to be choosing the younger cheaper higher upside route which is a smart and disciplined call sodestrom was unlikely to get an NHL shot in Chicago uh The Athletic reported that Sam Rinszel and Artum Levunov are rising fast in that organization and the Hawks weren’t going to block their development for Sodestrom didn’t appear as though Sodstrom had a big appetite to sign there either and I believe that he had until yesterday to opt out of his Swedish Hockey League contract and sign an NHL deal which is why the trade happened on Friday and then contract shortly thereafter that’s not the case in Boston right as I just mentioned after trading Carlo to Toronto the Bruins are suddenly thin on the right side and only Charlie Makavoy and Andrew Peak are really regulars under contract for this upcoming season on that side now they still might reach out to Yoki Haru’s camp in terms of re-upping with the Bruins he did have some nice chemistry with uh Nikita Zidorov on the blue line maybe they look at a guy like Dante Fabro or explore the market but with Boston Soderstrom has a clear opportunity and he could be the perfect candidate to step in and make an immediate impact after bouncing between the AHL and the NHL within the Coyotes organization that’s the team that drafted him 11th overall sodstrom returned to Sweden last season and looked pretty good posting 36 points in 47 games with Breenus fourth on the team and scoring as a defenseman and he was named the top defenseman in that league this past season the skill is there he’s got mobility puck moving sense a shot that remains pretty high level by Boston signing him to a one-year two-way contract there’s no long-term risk there’s no roster pressure and even if he doesn’t crack the NHL lineup he can still go to Providence and hone his game there or become a recall candidate he will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot at camp or start the year in Providence and be ready when injuries inevitably hit and if he hits you’ve just added a guy with top four upside for under $1 million for this upcoming season he’s a once premium prospect who’s finally in a system with a clear opportunity and a need for what he brings the Bruins with this trade got younger cheaper potentially even better on the right side of the blue line all while giving up pretty much nothing and that’s not the kind of move that makes headlines today perhaps but could look pretty smart come December now why was he available where has he been well we’re going to walk through his development arc from SHL talent to Arizona’s big draft swing to his recent resurgence in Sweden and now this next chapter with the Bruins here as the podcast continues do you ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go between dining out online shopping and entertainment it’s easy to lose track and that’s where Monarch Money 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as a member of the Boston Brits back in February of 2019 Sodestrom spent most of his season playing with Reinus of the SHL uh which was an impressive feat for a draft eligible defenseman played big minutes quarterback the power of play was praised for his high hockey IQ mobility and uh puck moving ability and that June the Coyotes traded up to select him 11th overall they sent the 14th overall pick and the 45th overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 11th pick which they used to draft Sodrom you might be wondering what those picks ended up being well Philadelphia used the 14th overall pick to select Cam York who has now played 235 NHL games 77 points to his credit and then uh the 45th pick looks like that was flipped as well and it was used to select Igor Affinac by the um natural predators this move reflected then GM John Chica’s strong belief in Soderstrom’s upside as a top pairing right shot defenseman and we all remember Chica as a analytics guy looking to build a smart hockey team with value players and um that’s why they traded up in order to secure his rights after a solid camp in Arizona he was loaned back to Brinus for further development he was eligible to play in the AHL but both his camp and the Coyotes agreed that staying in Sweden was best for his long-term growth we all know what happened that year COVID prior to that he was named to team Sweden for the World Junior Championship six points in seven games as one of Sweden’s top defenseman at that tournament uh in March of 2020 he was returned to Brinus and played big minutes finished the SHL season with 16 points in 35 games one of the team’s best blue liners despite his young age then due to uncertainty around the North American season because of CO 19 he was loaned to AIK to get regular playing time again still over in Europe 2021 another strong World Junior showing with five assists in five games he came to North America and was placed on the Coyote’s taxi squad which those were set up you know for the bubble co season uh in terms of reinforcements he made his NHL debut played a couple games before being assigned to Tucson in uh spring of 2021 finished the season with 10 points in 32 AHL games including four in his final four games he was recalled by Arizona and scored his first NHL goal in one of the final games for them uh that season so see things seem to be progressing well although CO kind of threw a wrench in things he did make Arizona’s opening night roster in 2021 after a strong camp but was scratched early went scoreless and spent most of the year shuttling between the AHL and the NHL uh in 2021-22 he played 16 NHL games zero points 32 AHL games with 19 points he was still viewed then as a top prospect but began falling a bit behind in the Coyote’s plans he was sent to AHL Tucson to start 2022 23 uh they had brought in other depth defenseman and Sodestrom had not shown enough to solidify his NHL role decent AHL season 21 points in 44 games he was recalled in February by the Arizona Coyotes six points in 18 games during that stint five of which came in a 10-ame stretch despite these flashes though Coyotes who are now under new management leaned toward larger more physical defenseman drafting Dmitri Simev Maverick Lamuru pushing Scodstrom further down the depth chart in October 2023 he was waved returned to Tucson and his development seemingly stalled in the Coyotes organization uh when they moved to Utah he was extended a qualifying offer this was in July of 2024 keeping his rights as an RFA but with little NHL opportunity on his horizon he did return to Sweden for this past year uh signing with Brinus uh now in the second league after being relegated from uh the SHL he excelled in Sweden nine goals 36 points in 47 games fourth in team scoring and this strong showing reignited NHL interest and I should say Breenus had been uh repromoted after being relegated uh a couple years ago so multiple teams showing interest and in fact Utah traded Sodtorm’s rights to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that helped move Shay Weber’s LTI R contract off the books as I mentioned the Blackhawks also have some upand cominging defenseman and it didn’t look as though he was going to sign with Chicago so after three months with that organization the Bruins acquired his rights from the Blackhawks on Friday sending defenseman Ryan Mast and a seventh round pick in exchange for his rights and then on Saturday the Bruins signed Soderstrom to a one-year two-way contract with a $775,000 NHL cap hit giving him another chance to crack an NHL roster his strengths he’s smooth skating right shot defenseman with excellent hockey IQ strong puck moving ability and power play upside he was once seen as a surefire top pairing prospect but his slow NHL development and depth chart challenges led to a detour back to Sweden where he reestablished his value all told he appeared in 53 NHL games for Arizona one goal 10 assists for 11 points which isn’t bad for your first 53 games especially when you’re going up and down up and down between the AHL and uh the NHL at the AHL level uh he was more productive offensively and had the best season of his pro career in uh Sweden with nine goals 28 assists for 37 points in 49 games winning the SHL defenseman of the year award he’s only 24 years old and he enters this season with the Bruins as a potential low-risk high upside pickup and if he translates his SHL resurgence to North American success he could still develop into a very good third pair defenseman even perhaps a second pair NHL blue liner behind Charlie Makavoy so altogether acquiring Victor Sodestrom was a smart low-risk high upside value move for the Boston Bruins and the kind of deal that could help the retool uh sooner than later and very happy with this move i think it’s a nice tidy piece of work and uh we’ll see if he is able to crack the Boston Bruins roster and what else they do to shore up the right side uh because they still need some depth there at the very least makavoy Peak Sodestrom might be a bit risky entering training camp still some things to do there but to get Sodstrom at 775,000 is a very nice tidy piece of work all right coming up to wrap up the podcast we’re going to discuss David Posak Pavo Zaka being named to the roster for Czecha for the Olympics and also whether Zaka will still be a member of the Bruins by that time because there are some rumblings out there that he could be a draft day move all right let’s wrap things up today with some perhaps Olympic talk and some possible trade talk it was announced today that David Poshak Pavo Zaka were two of the six players named to team Czecha for the 2026 Olympics which will be played in Italy during the upcoming season and Martin Nus was also on there leading me to maybe some future linemates uh playing there together there have been everydayers will remember a discussion about whether NIS could be available and whether he’d be a fit for the Bruins the other guys were Radco Lucas Dol and Andre Pat uh and team Canada team USA will name their original six coming up later today sweden did name theirs elias Lynholm was not on it but Frank Saravelli saying Charlie Makavoy likely to be one of the first six selected by the um team USA now that’s fun great but the question is will Paval Zaka be a member of the Boston Bruins come Olympic time and there was a recent mock draft done by the Athletic that suggested the Bruins could move Pavl Zaka at or prior to the draft look the Bruins have positioned themselves to restock their prospect pool or use that draft capital to get creative along with their own number seven pick as a reminder they hold two second rounders this year via Edmonton and Colorado toronto’s fourth in 2025 and their conditional first in 2026 a sixth for Minnesota next year and that first from Florida in the Brad Marshon trade and maybe tomorrow we’ll discuss the implications of Brad Marshon winning the cup and maybe being a K smite favorite the question though is will Doniny double down on the rebuild by trading more NHL players to gain even more picks and a recent mock draft in the Athletics suggested the Bruins keeping the seventh overall pick and selecting Jake O’Brien but also acquiring the number 15 pick from Vancouver so the Bruins would get the 15th pick which they would use on a defenseman named Jackson Smith plus forward Neil’s Hoglander in exchange for Zaka and Morat Husnut who is currently an RFA if the Bruins are serious about a longerterm retool moving Zaka now while his value is high could net them another first round talent possibly open up some flexibility hoglander is coming off a down year only eight goals and 25 points but he did score 24 the year before locked in for $3 million three more years and he’s 24 could thrive under Marco Stern that number 15 pick gives Sweeney options either take another future piece like Smith or use it in a package to trade for maybe a Nas or a Jason Robertson who we’ve talked about earlier but this isn’t necessarily a move to take lightly zaka is still only 28 plays both center and wing very reasonable cap hit for another two seasons 4.75 million he’s topped 50 points in two of his three seasons with Boston and would be a big loss from a top six that is already thin now he had been bumped down to the second line after uh then interim head coach Joe Sacko put Lindholm up on a line with Morgan Geeki and David Apostron so um there’s some question as to where he might fit but in acquiring Hoglander you’re getting a guy who’s only making 3 million for the next few seasons has scored 24 goals uh but a career-high 36 points and bit of a question mark uh to be sure there whether or not he could indeed find another level he was selected second round 40th overall back in 2019 the Bruins are mapping out like a two to threeyear rebuild there’s logic in moving Zack now while he’s affordable productive and in demand especially if it brings back another first round pick or leads to a bigger fish via trade hoglander would be an interesting get he does have some upside and could be a guy that could break out even further in the right system he’s only 24 he’s a bit undersized at 59 but a very nice $3 million cap hit through 2020 uh when when does his contract end 2027 28 so three years on that deal left um only eight goals 25 points but he played much of the season in Vancouver’s bottom six it was a very challenging year for Vancouver as a whole and his ice time dipped as did his confidence as the season went on but two years ago 24 goals 36 points energy roll but showed a knack for finishing around the net and was a reliable five on five scorer despite limited power play usage he’s still young highly skilled can be a 20 goal scorer at the NHL level change of scenery and a defined role could help him regain his form and Marco Sturm has a strong tracker record with younger players and Hoglander’s aggressive forche motor could mesh well with this season there’s some cost certainty there beyond what you get with Pavo Zaka and that’s valuable as the Bruins are transitioning into a younger faster lineup and need cap flexibility to build around David Charlie Makavoy he’s probably a middle six winger but with a scoring touch and feistiness that makes him hard to play against he could fit in as a third line winger with offensive pop or maybe even get a look in the top six if he rediscovers that form so this isn’t just a throwin he would be a genuinely useful everyday player for the Bruins and it’s a manageable number for a few seasons at the very least the kind of reclamation project that it’s worth betting on during a retool skill speed and edge kind of what you want from Hudinov but with a more proven track record and then the Bruins would get um the first round pick as well hoglander won’t replace Zaka in terms of versatility or production but he could be a younger cheaper piece with room to grow and allow the Bruins some cap flexibility to use more money elsewhere what’s your take on that let me know in the comments or on social media locked NHL Bruins are you in favor of this particular trade scenario again there it’s not a report or a rumor just part of that mock trade in the Athletic and we’ll keep on top of these mock trades mock drafts I should say and uh you know Bruins Jacob Bryan have been tied Brady Martin we’ll get a better sense of where they might be leaning here as the draft approaches so that’s today’s episode breaking down Victor Sodstrom’s acquisition and where he could fit in with the Bruins that upside there very smart move these are the kinds of moves that Don Sweeney needs to continue to make uh the Zaka to the Canucks move may equal the same but maybe it’s not worth giving up Zaka quite yet because he’s kind of a known versus the unknown in Hoglander and what he could bring to the Bruins thank you so much for making Locked on Bruins your first listen again please do check out Locked On NHL game night and the Locked On NHL podcast there’s no offseason here on Locked On we’re bringing you daily leaguewide stories that matter most with local coverage you love from Locked On find Locked On NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts same with Locked On Boston Bruins i appreciate the regular listeners so much please do subscribe if you have not already and tell a Bruins loving friend in your life today about the podcast it’s all part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day please do take care of yourselves friends take care of each other and we’ll talk to you again here on the next episode of Locked On Boston Bruins

The Locked On Boston Bruins podcast discusses the Bruins’ acquisition of defenseman Victor Soderstrom from the Chicago Blackhawks. Host Ian McLaren analyzes why this low-risk, high-upside move could be the most underrated of the offseason. The episode breaks down Soderstrom’s development since being drafted 11th overall in 2019, his potential fit with the Bruins, and the team’s strategy in addressing their thin right-side defense. McLaren also touches on David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha being named to Czechia’s Olympic roster, and explores a potential trade scenario involving Zacha and the Vancouver Canucks, weighing the pros and cons of such a move for Boston’s ongoing retool.

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