Darren Dreger reported today that "pending final approval," which is likely that last hurdle of getting the Swedish IHF to approve the transfer, Carl Soderberg could be in Boston training with the Bruins by this weekend. It'd be early enough to get him into some regular season games and acclimated before playoffs, which is a pretty big deal.
An even bigger deal: his salary. Soderberg has apparently signed for $600K this season, with a $500K signing bonus - and $1 million for two additional years. Yes, Soderberg is wrapped up until he's 30, and that's great news for the Bruins. As our own TomServo42 said, it's basically offsetting the Chris Kelly contract; a projected third-line forward making close to league minimum. If he underperforms, it's not a big deal; if he overperforms, he's locked up, and the Bruins don't have to worry about giving him a raise until the 2015-2016 season.
In addition, it was reported that Linkoping officially approved Soderberg's release from their club, which means that the Swedish IHF has no good reason to block the transfer. Definitely good news for the Bruins.
A little extra tidbit from Providence's own Nicklas Svedberg:
Nik Svedberg on Carl Soderberg, who he played against last yr.: 'He's for sure a good player. A big, strong guy. Strong on the puck.'
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) April 10, 2013
Soderbergmania is one step closer to becoming a reality. Get excited.