Another veteran on an expiring contract is on his way out of Chicago.
The Blackhawks sent forward Carl Soderberg to the Avalanche, receiving forward Josh Dickinson and the rights to forward Ryder Rolston in return.
🚨We have a trade to announce🚨
The #Blackhawks acquire the rights to forward Ryder Rolston & forward Josh Dickinson from Colorado in exchange for Carl Soderberg.
Dickinson is signed through this season (cap hit $925,000) & Rolston is unsigned at Notre Dame. #NHLTradeDeadline pic.twitter.com/hQpevpvaFl
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 12, 2021
Rolston appears to be the primary piece to this deal from Chicago’s viewpoint. The 19-year-old forward is the son of former NHLer Brian Rolston and was drafted in the fifth round (139th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft. He just completed his freshman season at Notre Dame, where he tallied one goal and five assists in 28 games while playing with fellow Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert. Rolston does not have an NHL contract.
Dickinson, 23, was an undrafted free agent and has spent the last three hockey seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. He’s yet to play in an NHL game.
Soderberg, 35, was signed by the Blackhawks in free agency soon after the news was shared that the team would be without Kirby Dach and Jonathan Toews to start the 2021 season. Soderberg played in 34 games with seven goals and eight assists but had been largely relegated to a healthy scratch once Dach returned from his injury. Soderberg skated on Saturday night against Columbus, replacing Mattias Janmark in the lineup and scoring a goal. But his future was never long in Chicago given his age and the team’s focus on young talent, so this was a chance for the Blackhawks to cash in on whatever return they could get.