Edmonton Oilers sign top 6 winger Viktor Arvidsson, 2 years at $4 ...

Edmonton Oilers have been looking to add a top-6 right winger to put on Leon Draisaitl‘s line forever. On Monday they found a solution on the open market, namely Viktor Arvidsson.

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A product of the Skelleftea program in his native Sweden, Arvidsson was an over-age draft pick by Nashville (#112 in 2014), landed in North America that fall at age 21. After a season in the AHL and another as a depth NHLer, he exploded with three consecutive seasons of 29+ goals for the perennial contenders in Music City. Along the way he signed the 7-year x $4.25 million contract that has just expired. He developed a close friendship with fellow Swede and now fellow Oiler Mattias Ekholm.

After dealing with injury issues Arvidsson was dealt to the Kings for a couple of draft picks in 2021. He enjoyed two excellent seasons there before a back injury restricted him to just 18 games (6-9-15, +4) in 2023-24.

His durability is the biggest question, with an average of 60 GP during his nine full* NHL seasons. (*Nashville played 69 games in 2019-20, 56 in 2021).  Overall, his attendance rate has been around 77%.

Oil fans are familiar with his tenacious style. He missed the first Kings-Oilers series in 2022 but was a force in both 2023 and 2024, posting 10 points in 11 games. Just 5’10, 185 pounds, he is nonetheless a ferocious puck hound who is exceptional along the walls with a nose for the net. He’s not a banger in the traditional sense with a career high of just 30 hits, but tenacity on the puck is his stock in trade.

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As a King, Arvidsson was a fixture on an outstanding two-way line with Philip Danault and Trevor Moore. In Edmonton he projects as a natural sidekick for Draisaitl, who has had a variety of right wingers while Zach Hyman has been a constant alongside Connor McDavid. In several cases, from Warren Foegele to Dylan Holloway, it’s been a left winger promoted up the line-up to fill what has been an identifiable hole for quite some time.

Hard to imagine that addressing this vexing issue will hurt the upcoming negotiation for a Draisaitl extension, either.

Speaking of Foegele, he has gone the other way, signing a three-year contract with the Kings in the range of $3.5 million per season. Call it a “trade”.

Over his career, Arvidsson has averaged 27-27-54 per 82 games played, consistently averaging around 17 minutes per game. He was an excellent PKer early in his career but saw little of that special team during his three years in L.A. He did have one strong year on the powerplay as a King, though by-and-large he’s done most of his offensive damage at even strength where he has averaged a point every other game throughout his career.

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He’s also been a consistent outscorer. Since being promoted to top six ice time in his second full season, Arvidsson’s 5v5 GF% has been north of 50% every single season, with a combined 55% in that key category over those eight seasons. He’s been a good player lining up with other good players, the exact same scenario that should unfold for the Edmonton phase of his career where his familiar jersey #33 awaits.

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