Toivonen to St. Louis For Soderberg
Dobber Sports
2007-07-24
The St. Louis Blues have acquired Hannu Toivonen from the Boston Bruins for prospect Carl Soderberg.
The Blues get: A No.3 goaltender with a reasonably bright future, who will push Jason Bacashihua as the backup to Legace, and will push Schwarz as the starter in Peoria. The Blues are aware that both Legace and Bacashihua tend to get hurt and they have nightmares of the last couple of seasons in which they found themselves having to start their No.4 goaltender at times. In a couple of years, their one-two goalies could very well be Schwarz-Toivonen.
The Bruins get: a decent prospect with second line upside. Soderberg was upset that he was cut from the Blues last year and refused to report to the AHL. He went back to Sweden and was suspended. He likely would never have played for the Blues. The Bruins not only expect him in camp, but they expect him to make the team this year. Would he fit in? If Kessel moves to the left wing, Soderberg would be the No.3 center. Soderberg is ranked 129 on my prospect list, but with the trade moves closer to a top 100 spot.
Fantasy players impacted: Soderberg is now of interest and bears watching in camp. Toivonen gets a new lease on life. This hurts Bacashihua owners.
Other: When I speculated that Toivonen will be traded a couple of weeks ago, a lot of forums took that info and posted it, including the likes of HF Boards. Some took it seriously, but some put down DobberHockey as not a "reputable source". I just want to make it clear that I do not pull things out of my ass – if I find something speculated by a reputable source and it makes sense, I will post it. If I give my opinion, I make it clear that it is my opinion and not a fact. I don't guess those same forums will be posting how I was right on this one.