As first reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, and later confirmed by The Athletic’s Scott Powers, the Blackhawks have signed goaltender Arvid Soderblom to a two-year, $5.5 million contract. An arbitration date was set for July 28, but that will no longer be necessary.
Honestly, this is a contract many felt would never be signed with the Blackhawks after Soderblom’s miserable 2023-24 season, where he went 5-22-2 with a .879 save percentage (SV%) and 3.92 goals-against average (GAA). Not only were the numbers bad, but the Swedish-born netminder looked lost in the crease at times, and his confidence was at an all-time low.
Last summer, the Blackhawks signed veteran goaltender Laurent Brossoit to be Petr Mrazek’s backup, and Soderblom was going back to Rockford to play out the final year of his contract. Then, Brossoit suffered a knee injury while training, and Soderblom was back in the NHL picture. He ended playing the entire season with the Blackhawks and bounced back with a .898 SV% and 3.18 GAA in a career-high 36 games.
Soderblom’s turnaround can be credited to a tremendous amount of hard work with goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and a quiet confidence in his ability. There were still some not-so-great moments last season, but they were far less frequent than what we saw the previous season. He will back up Spencer Knight this season, as Drew Commesso continues to develop with the IceHogs.