Carl Soderberg’s Exit Opens The Door For Ryan Spooner
Yesterday, it became public that the Boston Bruins would not re-sign Carl Soderberg. Soderberg tied for third in points overall last season for the Black and Gold (tied with Milan Lucic) and was one of the few Bruins to play in all eighty-two games. A lot of the fans were disappointed in Soderberg’s performance this year, as they were hoping for another Milan Lucic and ended up with another ‘soft Swede’.
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The Bruins couldn’t afford Soderberg even if they wanted him. He’s one of the better centers out there in this year’s free agency class. He’s certain to get a big bump up from his current one million dollar a year contract, and he’ll certainly find himself a place in another NHL team. There has already been talk linking Soderberg to the Vancouver Canucks.
I had a few chances to talk with the Bruins third line center last season, and I’m really going to miss those conversations. Well, I’m pretty sure they were conversations.
With the departure of Soderberg, this certainly raises the odds that Ryan Spooner will end up centering the Black and Gold’s third line. Spooner brought a spark back to the Boston Bruins. He has explosive energy, a solid shot, and had a great series of games with David Pastrnak and Milan Lucic.
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The youth of Spooner and Pastrnak certainly revitalized Lucic at a time where he was having one of his most disappointing seasons in a Bruins uniform.
Ryan Spooner will certainly improve the Bruins chances of not repeating last season’s mistakes. He’s spending the summer getting ready to play NHL hockey from day one. He’s putting on more muscle, and he’s doing what he can to get faster on the ice. At the very least, he’ll be a solid third line center for the Bruins.
Hopefully, part of the “talk” Don Sweeney had with Claude Julien involved Julien’s lack of desire of playing younger players. Julien had multiple opportunities to play his younger players, and chose not to. The Bruins poor choices with the wrong players was one of the reasons why the Bruins failed to make the postseason last year.
With at least three veterans out of the mix for next season, Julien doesn’t have much of a choice. In fact, with all the two-way contracts being signed recently, the average age of a Bruins player will be taking a sharp dive.
Ryan Spooner will finally get his chance to shine in Boston, and it’s a good thing for the Bruins organization.