Coyotes acquire Avalanche’s Carl Söderberg

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Arizona Coyotes acquired forward Carl Söderberg on Tuesday afternoon. In exchange, the Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Kevin Connauton.

The Avalanche also acquired a 2020 third-round draft pick in this deal.

Carl Söderberg prepares for a face-off against the Columbus Blue Jackets (Getty Images)

“Cari is a versatile, 200-foot player, who has a history of being productive and playing tough minutes,” Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka said. “He will be a stabilizer in our lineup and gives our coaching staff lots of flexibility.”

The 33-year-old Malmö, Sweden will be going to his third NHL team. He has spent the last four seasons with the Avalanche.

Besides playing for the Avalanche, he also spent his first three seasons with the Boston Bruins.

This past season, he scored a career-high 23 goals with 26 assists for 49 points in 82 games. He also had a -5 in +/- and 26 PIM.

Before his career-best 23 goals, he had 16 goals twice in a season — in 2013-14 with the Bruins and in 2017-18 with the Avalanche.

The 29-year-old Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native will be joining his fourth NHL team. Besides playing for the Coyotes, he also played for the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This past season, he had one goal and seven assists for eight points in 50 games. He also had a -2 +/- and 22 PIM.

Connauton has not played an entire season with a team. He was close with 73 games during the 2017-18 season.

That season, he also scored a career-best 11 goals. He also tied his career-best with 21 points, which tied his best from 2014-15, as well, split between the Stars and Blue Jackets.

Sharks make Boedker a healthy scratch

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

San José Sharks key offseason addition Mikkel Bøedker is a healthy scratch for Thursday’s game with the Minnesota Wild at 10:30 pm EST. He will be replaced in the lineup by Tommy Wingels.

Mikkel Bøedker (Getty Images)

The 27-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch one other time this season.

He signed a four-year, $16 million deal with the team in the offseason. He had a 51-point season with the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche last season.

The thought was that he would benefit from playing with the San José centers Joe Thornton or Logan Couture, who he previously played with while with the Coyotes.

In 38 games this season, he has two goals and six assists. He has spent a limited time playing on the lines with Thornton or Couture.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said he had a talk with Bøedker about his play.

“I know this kid and I know his character. My conversation with him was, heading into Christmas, he probably played eight or 10 of the best games he’s played here,” DeBoer said. “Might have been our best player six or seven of those nights. He’s 40 games in, he knows our systems. He knows how we want to play. He’s been able to play that way and been effective for more than a game or two. He’s done it for a stretch. Now, it’s just consistently bringing that.

“This is a tough division we’re in. You can’t take your foot off the gas. We’ve got tough decisions to make every night, and we’ve got good players sitting out. I think that’s the message, and he gets it. I’m sure we’ll get a good response when he’s back in.”

Any Corrections?. You can contact Anthony at publisher@thecapitalsportsreport.com.

Follow Anthony: @alcaruso3 on Twitter | Anthony Caruso III on Facebook
Follow us: @CapSportsReport on Twitter | The Capital Sports Report on Facebook

Calgary Flames fire head coach Bob Hartley

The Calgary Flames have fired its head coach Bob Hartley. Hartley was the Flames head coach since the 2012-13 season.

This season, he went 35-40-0-7 for 77 points. The team finished 5th in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs.

He guided the team to the playoffs only once in his three-and-a-half seasons. Last season, they went 45-30-0-7 for 97 points, and they lost in the Conference semifinals to the Anaheim Ducks.

With the Flames, he went 139-141-0-25, including the playoffs.

Prior to coaching the Flames, he also coached the ZSC Lions in the National League A in Switzerland. He guided the team to the 2012 Swiss Championship.

His prior NHL jobs include the Colorado Avalanche and the Atlanta Thrashers (now they’re the Winnipeg Jets).

In his NHL coaching career, he’s gone 463-361-61-59 in 944 regular season games. He also coaches his teams to six Division titles, with four straight during his Avalanche tenure.

Hartley is 54-41 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. During the 2000-01 season, he guide the Avs to the Stanley Cup Championship.

Besides the Stanley Cup Championship, Hartley also won the 1997 Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears. He also won the Northwest Division Title with the Avs from 1999-2002 along with the Southeast Title in 2007 with the Thrashers.

Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde suspended

The NHL has suspended Philadelphia Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde for two games without pay. He was suspended following an elbow to Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews during NHL Game No. 1048 in Chicago on Wed., March 16.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the suspended on Friday afternoon. The incident happened at 19:30 of the first period.

VandeVelde was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing in the game.

He will forfeit $7,6661.30 based on his average annual salary under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money will go into the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The Flyers defeated the Blackhawks in the game, 3-2, from the United Center in Chicago. The Flyers had goals by Brayden Schenn, Ryan White and Radko Gudas.

The Blackhawks had goes from Toews and Marián Hossa.

With the win over the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Flyers are back in the playoff picture.

VandeVelde will miss Saturday afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. He’s also expected to miss Monday night’s game against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

He may return on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. If he doesn’t return for that game, he could return on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Co.

Bertuzzi could be nearing a settlement in the lawsuit with Steve Moore

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: August 19th, 2014 at 1:37 am EST

Todd Bertuzzi has been living a nightmare for more than a decade.

Now, it appears his litigation could be resolved in the near future. On March 8th, 2004, the Colorado Avalanche were facing the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Bertuzzi Incident (Getty Images)

In the first period, Steve Moore got into a fight with Matt Cook, resulting in a 5-minute major penalty for fighting. Following a large lead in the fight-filled game, Bertuzzi came into the game in an effort to get Moore to fight once more.

After he was unable to get Moore to fight, he skated over to Moore, grabbed his jersey, then punched him in the jaw. This resulted in Moore being unconscious.

Bertuzzi wasn’t done, as he landed on top of Moore, then drove his face into the ice. Moore would then law motionless on the ice for 10 minutes, before going off on a stretcher to a local hospital.

The incident caused Moore to have three fractured neck vertebrae’s, facial cuts, and a concussion. It also ended Moore’s hockey career and caused police to press criminal charges against Bertuzzi.

Now, things could be coming to an end, according to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie.

Legal reps for Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore are deep into discussions aimed at arriving at a negotiated (out of court) settlement.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) August 19, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Note: While some sources suggest Bertuzzi-Moore settlement may be close, no legal agreement currently in place. Civil trial set for Sept 8.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) August 19, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

But multiple sources say a negotiated settlement to avert a trial is a possibility. Talks are ongoing.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) August 19, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Thomas makes 32 saves in the Panthers 4-1 win over the Av’s for his 200th career win

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: November 17th, 2013 at 12:35 am EST

Florida Panthers goalie Tim Thomas would have accomplished this record last year if he played.

But Thomas sat out the 2012-13 season after playing for the Boston Bruins. The 39-year-old elected to sit out the season after losing in seven games to the Washington Capitals.

Tim Thomas (Getty Images)

He was traded to the New York Islanders in February for a second round draft pick from the Bruins. However, he would not play for the Islanders after the NHL lockout.

Yet, he would return this season with the Panthers after working out for them in September. He would sign a one-year deal with the team to return to action.

And on Saturday night, Thomas won win his 200th career game. He would make 32 saves in the Panthers 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.

Brad Boyes, Tomas Kopecky, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored in Thomas’s historic win. Ryan O’Reilly scored the Avalanche’s lone goal.