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2013-14 Player Preview: Kelly and the Swede |
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Ty Anderson
 Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSS
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The Basics
Name: Chris Kelly (No. 23)
Position: Center/Left Wing
Height and weight: 6-feet, 198 pounds.
How he got here: Kelly was traded to Boston in Feb. 2011 by the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2011 second round draft pick and signed a four-year extension in 2012.
The Stats
- Since the start of the 2011 playoffs, the Bruins are 27-2-0 when Kelly scores a goal.
- Three of Kelly’s nine points in 2013 came against the Buffalo Sabres.
- Kelly was one of the B’s alternate captains in 2013, splitting duties with Andrew Ference.
The Money
Kelly’s overpaid. Let’s just say it, get it out of the way, and move past it. That’s by no means suggesting that Kelly’s a bad hockey player or even a bad third line center for that matter, but his contract is too high both in term (this is year two of four) and money, with a $3 million cap hit.
He’s as expensive as guys like Radim Vrbata, Steve Ott, and Devin Setoguchi, but he brings half of the offensive game to the rink on a nightly basis. Again, this is by no means meant to harp on Kelly’s game, which does have its valuable points as B’s fans have obviously seen since Kelly’s introduction into the Hub, but $3 million for a checking line center? Eh, I’ve never been crazy about that idea in a shrinking cap (for now).
But how did it get this way? To be honest, I thought that the Bruins outbid themselves to retain Kelly’s services in the summer of 2012. On the heels of a 20-goal, 39-point regular season and strong playoff showing in 2011-12, the B’s weren’t taking no for an answer from Kelly, and it showed.
The Past
Following career highs across the board in 2011-12, Kelly looked to fine tune his game with HC Red Ice (Swiss-2) for eight games during the NHL lockout, scoring four goals and nine points, before returning to Boston for the start of lockout-delayed 2013 campaign.
But it was a plummet back down to Earth in the attacking zone from the 32-year-old Kelly that paved the way for an unbelievably frustrating year from the Bruins’ third line.
Scoring his first goal of the year 15 games into the season, a marker in a 4-1 victory over the Panthers, Kelly’s nightmarish season continued when he suffered a fractured tibia in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Missing the next 13 games, Kelly’s return to the ice however did bring about a stronger effort in the attacking zone, due in large to the additions of Jaromir Jagr and Carl Soderberg. While the points didn’t come, the pressure was there, and there were literally countless times where you wondered how Kelly’s chance didn’t go in.
Finishing the year with three goals and nine points in 34 games, Kelly provided a strong defensive zone presence (like always) during the Bruins’ 22-game postseason run, but didn’t find himself on the board with a point until the 18th game of the playoffs, and finished with all three of his postseason points coming in the final round against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Future
In his third full season with the Bruins, Kelly will have the familiar role of skating as the centerpiece of the club’s complementary scoring third line. Expected to spend most of the year dishing the puck to Soderberg and Reilly Smith, the main focus of Kelly’s game will remain in the defensive zone, where his penalty-killing prowess and downright domination of the faceoff game has made him an absolutely a must-have in the lineup for coach Claude Julien. And with an established chemistry between the line, Kelly’s number should certainly see an increase from last year’s icky figures, setting him up for a solid 14-goal, 31-point year in Boston.
The Basics
Name: Carl Soderberg (No. 34)
Position: Left Wing/Center
Height and weight: 6-foot-3, 198 pounds
How he got here: Soderberg was traded from St. Louis to Boston in July 2007 in exchange for goaltender Hannu Toivonen, but didn’t reach a contract agreement with the Bruins until April 2013.
The Stats
- Soderberg recorded his first NHL point in just his second game, assisting a Jaromir Jagr goal.
- Drafted by the Blues with the 49th overall pick in 2004, Soderberg was picked ahead of talents such as David Booth, Alex Goligoski, and teammate David Krejci.
- Soderberg scored a league leading 31 goals for Linkoping (Swedish Elite League) last season.
The Money
Signing a three-year deal worth $3.025 million last spring, Soderberg enters year two of the deal and its modest $1.008 million cap hit with the chance to be a huge bargain for the Bruins.
Soderberg’s essentially signed to a contract akin to Brad Boyes’ with the Panthers or Mason Raymond’s deal with Toronto. They’re both guys that went unsigned late into the offseason, resorted to affordable deals simply to be in the NHL, and have the ability to contribute serious scoring chances a club’s bottom six.
The Past
It was only natural and inevitable that people felt some minor disappointment when it came to Carl Soderberg’s first stint in the NHL. But again and perhaps forgettable it the fact that it was his first time in this league.
Coming to North America after a 54-game season in the Swedish Elite League, the 27-year-old Soderberg was simply adjusting to life out of his homeland. No longer playing in the SEL, where he recorded 45 goals and 95 points in 96 games with Linkoping HC, Soderberg’s transition to Boston came with a huge change in his role and introduction to a new system with the Black-and-Gold.
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as people thought it would be, with Soderberg recording just two assists in a combined eight games (six regular season, two playoff games) for Boston.
The Future
While Soderberg’s already been ruled out of tomorrow night’s season opener with an ankle injury, the expectations are absolutely there for the ‘One-Eyed Swede’ here in his second year with the B’s.
Playing the wing on the Kelly line, and after a strong preseason with Kelly and Smith, Soderberg will also enter 2013-14 with the expectation to log some serious minutes on the Bruins’ second power-play unit, and with that should come some more goal-scoring from No. 34.
When he does return, and at 6-foot-3, expect Soderberg’s offensive skills to shine with the Bruins in year two, as he’ll finish with 19 goals and 39 points in 68 games.
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