Blackhawks Re-Sign Arvid Soderblom to Two-Year Extension

The Chicago Blackhawks are bringing back 23-year-old Arvid Soderblom for a pair of years. Per the Blackhawks official release, the Swedish goaltender and the team avoid arbitration and instead agree to a contract with an annual AAV of $962.5k.

Soderblom shuffled between Chicago and Rockford in 2022-23 and segued between struggling and superb on a team clearly playing for draft position.

The deal gives another couple years for Soderblom to grow and learn, especially on a team prime to rise over the same course of time.

Blackhawks Lock Up One Of Many RFA’s

In the 15 games he played for Chicago, Soderblom posted a .894 save perecentage with a 2-10-2 mark while with the big club. His numbers were predictably better in Rockford where he was 15-12-5 with a .905 save percentage. In the Icehogs five playoff games, Soderblom posted a .895 save percentage with a 2-3 mark.

Soderblom’s case is one where the Blackhawks are relying on the oft-injured Petr Mrazek and 35-year-old Stralock, who signed a one-year deal and is a finalist for the Bill Masterton Award. Mrazek has a year remaining with a $3.8M AAV. It’s likely the Blackhawks will have Soderblom audition for the backup role heading into the preseason.

Or, if inclined, they may seek a longer term solution with Mrazek likely playing his contract out next season. With the Blackhawks winning the Lottery and having the chance to take Connor Bedard, it’s likely Chicago looks at several options.

The deal is one of many that Chicago will be making in what could be a busy offseason. Rockford teammates Alec Regula and Jakub Galvas are RFA’s, with the latter having arbitration rights with four other forwards also in due deals. One of the more interesting names will be Ian Mitchell, who was projected to be a better prospect who has not quite met what Chicago expected.