Carl Soderberg didn’t make the move from the Swedish Elite League to the NHL until he was 27, joining the Boston Bruins late in the 2012-13 season.
After he played the next two full seasons with Boston, gained a foothold in North America and was on the verge of unrestricted free agency, the Bruins essentially couldn’t fit him under the salary cap. Boston traded his rights to Colorado and the Avalanche signed him to a five-year, $23.75 million contract.
Soderberg will play against Boston for the first time when the Avalanche faces the Bruins at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Pepsi Center.
“It’s going to be fun,” Soderberg said Wednesday morning. “It’s my old teammates, it’s going to be a special game for sure. That’s the team where I started my NHL career.”
Soderberg said of the 0-3 Bruins: “It’s a good organization, for sure, so I can’t say anything bad about them right now. I’m an Avalanche and I am going to give my very best performance tonight, but I had good years there.”
He said he wasn’t bothered that the Bruins didn’t find a way to make the numbers work. “That’s how the business is and the Avalanche was one of the most interested teams, so I was really glad when they wanted me.”
Soderberg is centering the line between rookie Mikko Rantanen and Borna Rendulic and has two assists in two games.
“I’m fitting in pretty good,” he said. “It’s a different game, but I’m fitting in. The Bruins, it’s more defense, here it’s a skill game and faster. It’s different and I can adjust to that.”
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said Soderberg “has been very good” and that he is “very happy” with the Swede’s play. “He’s like a big brother to them,” Roy said of Soderberg and the young wingers. I think he’s been helping them a lot.”
As Roy disclosed Tuesday, the Avalanche will make a tweak tonight, making Nate Guenin a healthy scratch and putting Brad Stuart in the lineup for the first time, pairing him with Nick Holden. Mikhail Grigorenko and Brandon Gormley will be the healthy scratches and Semyon Varlamov will get his third start in net.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or @tfrei
