The Bruins helped out the confusion in the crease going into training camp by dealing Hannu Toivonen to St. Louis for prospect centre, Carl Soderberg.
Toivonen appeared in 18 games for Boston last season, winning 3 of them. Toivonen was losing the battle last season against Tim Thomas and company for crease-time and spent a great deal of time in the minors. Now with the Bruins acquiring Manny Fernandez from the Wild, Toivonen has officially been deemed the odd man out and has now been sent to St. Louis. Unfortunately, the roster in St. Louis may be a tad tough to crack. The Blues are currently holding Manny Legace, Jason Bacashihua and Marek Schwartz... all of which are eyeing the number one job there. With four quality goaltenders now, the race for two spots will be increasingly tight.
Soderberg, a 2nd round pick in 2004, was more than likely on the verge of cracking the Blues squad last season, but never quite made it. He ended up going back to Sweden to play in the Elite League for IF Malmo and almost registered a point-a-game there. He might be able to crack the Boston line-up in the centre position with a strong camp. Soderberg, 22 in October, should now have the physical capabilities to play in the NHL and could find himself in a third-line role with the big club or a first-line role in Providence for seasoning.
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