Assessment of the Elmer Söderblom Trade
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2026 NHL trade deadline as unexpected buyers.
During the final hour of the deadline, the Penguins acquired forward Elmer Söderblom from the Detroit Red Wings. In return, Detroit receives a 2026 third round draft pick. The pick was original property of the San Jose Sharks, which Pittsburgh obtained as part of the Erik Karlsson trade, in the summer of 2023.
Söderblom was a sixth round selection of the Red Wings in the 2019 draft.
The Swedish born Söderblom played parts of three seasons in Detroit, including this season, where he scored two goals in 39 games.
Söderblom is an enormous individual, standing 6’8, 252 pounds. Despite the huge size, he’s not a particularly physical forward, however, he does possess a very good shot.
Assessment of the trade: The Red Wings get back really good value, for a forward they probably felt wasn’t going to be anymore than a bottom six guy.
As for the Penguins, president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas, mentioned earlier this week that the team was seeking out a reclamation type forward; similar to what Dubas did in December, when he traded for Egor Chinahkov from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Söderblom has an AAV of $1.125 million next season, and will be a restricted free agent heading into 2027-28.
The hope for Pittsburgh is that Söderblom can provide quality, bottom six forward depth. Söderblom is only 24, so perhaps head coach Dan Muse and his staff can try to develop his overall game even further.