Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed a TSN report last night that Swedish star Carl Soderberg, whose NHL rights have been owned by the B’s since 2007, is close to coming to play for the team this year after his season with Linkoping HC in the Swedish Elite League ends.

Chiarelli told the Herald he’s still waiting on final clearance from the league to make sure the move would be allowed, but he’s optimistic.

“We’ve been trying for five years to get him over here and it’s close,” said Chiarelli, who said the move wouldn’t stop him from continuing to explore the trade market. “He’s had a hell of a year and he’s grown into a big strong kid now, a man, and he’s told us that he feels he’s ready now. He’s a good player, big strong player. There are still some steps to go, but it looks good.”

The 27-year-old Soderberg had a breakout year, posting 31-29-60 totals for Linkoping. The SEL has just finished the regular season and Soderberg’s team is about to start a best-of-seven quarterfinal round.

Soderberg is a left-hand shot that could possibly be a solution for the third line. Chris Bourque, who had been playing there, was placed on waivers for the purpose of sending him down to Providence (teams have until noon today to claim him).

Hard-line approach

Exactly what the answer is for the struggling third line remains unclear. But it appears the B’s organization has come to the realization that changes needed to be made — and Bourque was waived.

In the B’s losses to Montreal and Washington, the third line was on the ice for four goals. Chris Kelly, plus-33 last year, and Rich Peverley, plus-20 last year, are minus-7 and minus-8, respectively, this year.

“It’s pretty obvious that it’s been a bit of a challenge for us,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien of finding the right mix for the bottom six. “There are two guys in Kelly and Peverley that were great assets and big plus players last year that are struggling to get that part of their game going. The one thing you don’t do is lose confidence in them. They just have to work their way through it. That’s part of their job and it’s part of our job. We know what they’re capable of doing.”

Julien said the move doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Bourque in a Bruins uniform.

“This is not a coach’s decision, it’s an organization’s, and it wasn’t an easy one because we know the type of person Chris is and he’s a great player,” said Julien. “Just because right now we’re waiving him, we certainly hope not to lose him.”

Better effort

The B’s went with Jay Pandolfo in Bourque’s spot against the Maple Leafs in last night’s 4-2 win and the unit had a better game. In one frustrating second-period sequence, all three players glittering scoring chances that didn’t go.

“When you’ve got a guy like Pandolfo on the left there he’s got a lot of experience with the defensive part of his game and I thought they had some great chances again,” said Julien. “Poor Pev he’s got a wide-open net and he’s kind of handcuffed. You know when it rains it pours for some of those players and somehow you’re keeping your fingers crossed that he’s going to get a goal and take a little bit of pressure off his shoulders and let him play at ease again. But he’s really fighting it right now and he’s certainly not getting a break, but that line was better for me tonight.” . . .

Adam McQuaid and Mark Fraser had a long, brutal bout early in the first period. Fraser landed a lot of blows and McQuaid did well to stay on his feet, getting in a few of his own. . . .

David Krejci had a good night in the faceoff circle, winning 12-of-16 draws.