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Bruins sign recent trade acquisition to one-year contract

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Michael Whitaker | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 5:02 PM ET

The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks hooked up on a trade involving minor league defensemen on Friday, and general manager Don Sweeney is already making sure that the short-term future of one of the pieces in the deal is secured for next season.

The Blackhawks traded the restricted free agency rights to defenseman Victor Soderstrom to the Bruins for defenseman Ryan Mast and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Not long after the trade was completed, the Bruins acted quickly and re-signed Soderstrom to a new, one-year contract with a cap hit of $775,000.

Soderstrom was an original draftee of the Arizona Coyotes prior to their move to Salt Lake City to become the Utah Mammoth. He was traded by Utah to the Blackhawks in March with Aku Raty and the contract of Shea Weber at the trade deadline for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Will Victor Soderstrom crack the Bruins’ lineup next season?

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Victor Soderstrom (77) reacts after hitting a crossbar behind Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (36) during the third period of a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Soderstrom already has extensive playing experience despite not getting much action in the NHL, having already won the Börje Salming Trophy as the best defenseman in the SHL.

Not long after being selected by the Coyotes, Soderstrom returned overseas and signed a contract with his hometown team, Brynäs Gävle.

It was a move that he said he didn’t regret, but that he still hoped that he would eventually become a defenseman in the NHL.

“I definitely don’t regret a thing,” Soderstrom said via The Hockey News. “It’s a slightly different path to take because I’m still young and my goal is still very much to make it in the NHL.

“I love coming to the rink every day. The fact that the pairing with Charles-Édouard D’Astous has worked so well has of course also meant a lot.”

The jury for the Salming Trophy described Soderstrom in glowing terms when it came time to name him as the recipient of the award.

“An elegant player on the ice who has been one of the biggest contributors to newcomer Bynäs’ record-breaking season in the SHL,” they said. “Extremely skilled, and also a top-notch point-scorer as a defenseman. Has formed the league’s best defenseman pair during the season with Charles-Édouard D’Astous.”

He has 53 total games of NHL experience with the Coyotes and has scored a goal with 10 assists.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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