by When it came to his next destination, Viktor Arvidsson had the upper hand this offseason.
With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way, a berth in Edmonton has virtually assured a lengthy playoff run each spring, despite his individual productivity declining in 2024–25 with the Oilers (15 goals, 27 points in 67 games).
However, the 32-year-old winger chose to waive his no-trade clause last week in order to sanction a trade to the Bruins, despite the fact that he was signed with Edmonton through 2025–2026 at a reasonable $4 million salary charge.
For a retooled Bruins club in 2025–2026, a strong postseason run might not be in the cards.
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However, the chance to reconnect with one of his previous instructors in Los Angeles, Marco Sturm, remained an alluring offer for Arvidsson going forward.
The identities [of Boston’s free-agent recruits with ties to Los Angeles] were not mentioned by me. They did. That’s how we should begin, right?Boston.com quoted Sturm. Funny enough, it turned out that I had them and that we were in the same organization. And that was beneficial, particularly with Arvy.
He had a no-move clause, and he fulfilled it due of our prior relationship as well as his desire to move to Boston and take advantage of a fantastic opportunity.
Arvidsson, who is starting a contract season, feels that the chance to play for Sturm and possibly earn major offensive reps in Boston was too much to refuse.
According to Arvidsson, “I’m going to come there, I’m going to play a responsible game, and I think Marco knows exactly what he’s getting from me.” I’ll contribute offensively and score goals. I’m sure I’m capable of it. I am aware that I struggled a little bit with that and the chance last year. I know I’m going to bring that. I have every confidence that I will improve the team.
“I have a really good relationship with Marco, who I know from before,” Arvidsson remarked. I believe that this year will be enjoyable.
The Bruins are hoping that everyone wins from last week’s trade, particularly if Arvidsson can provide a scoring spark to a forward corps lacking elite players.
Having more firepower up front was clearly Boston’s biggest priority this offseason.
Boston placed 28th in the NHL in goals per game, 29th in power-place percentage, and 29th in shots on goal per game, despite David Pastrnak’s ongoing offensive prowess (43 goals, 106 points) and a breakthrough season from Morgan Geekie (33 goals).
With Arvidsson as the only exception as a winger with genuine 20-goal potential, Boston instead chose to concentrate the most of its offseason acquisitions and signings on tough, bottom-six players like Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont.
Boston might become more difficult to play against every night if their forward corps is strengthened.
The Bruins, however, appear destined to suffer from the same shortcomings that destroyed any chance of a competitive product in 2024–25 if they are still unable to score goals and create offense.
Therefore, there is a lot of pressure on Arvidsson to add some offensive depth to his new squad, most likely on a second line that might potentially include players like Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.
When it comes to Arvidsson’s ability to ignite the lamp, his record speaks for itself.
Five times in his career, he has scored 20 goals or more, including two seasons with the Predators in 2016–17 (31 goals) and 2018–19 (34 goals).
However, the Swedish forward hasn’t had as successful of a season in recent years.
During the 2023–24 season, Arvidsson struggled with ailments. He had back surgery in October and then had to contend with a persistent lower-body problem. That season, Arvidsson managed to score six goals and record 15 points in just 18 games.
Arvidsson found it difficult to settle into a routine in Edmonton, particularly on a power-play unit where he has typically played a more shifty netfront role. On the Oilers’ superior man advantage, he only managed one goal and two assists.
It was very different from his prior power play performances, such the 2022–2023 season with Los Angeles, when Arvidsson had 10 goals and 15 assists.
Adrian Kempe (4) receives a feed from Viktor Arvidsson and scores the power-play goal by firing on the gaping net.Draw Doughty (1) and Viktor Arvidsson (2) provide assistance.#FlyTogether#LAKvsANApic.twitter.com/0HT3n4oGzp #GoKingsGo
Regarding his decline in output last year, Arvidsson stated, “I think a lot of factors played into it.” I simply need to examine myself as a person and a player because I bear just as much of the blame as everyone else did. That’s what I really think. And I’m going to do just that.
With Zacha and Mittelstadt as playmakers, Arvidsson should get more featured time with Boston, whether it’s on the top power-play unit or in a second-line position, where his shot-first strategy should be a welcome change.
Arvidsson ought to be a cooperative player as Sturm enhances Boston’s offensive strategy by emphasizing shot volume and tempo.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Arvidsson finished 19th out of 596 NHL players who played at least 500 minutes of even-strength ice time during the previous season, with 9.57 shots per 60 minutes.
However, Sturm and his staff are counting on a comeback season from a power-play unit that, personnel-wise, should have some upside as Boston prepares for a season in which 5-on-5 scoring will be difficult to find without Pastrnak on the ice.
Arvidsson echoes that confidence, stating that Sturm was his power-play coach in Los Angeles prior to the now-Bruins bench boss joining the AHL.
Regarding his new head coach, Arvidsson stated, “I believe there was a lot of communication between him and the players, how we were going to make it better, how we were going to be successful.” There was more to it than Xs and Os. It has a large bank of successful situational plays and was constantly working to better it. He has played the game and understands its basic idea.
Boston’s summer addition could be the solution to the team’s special teams problems if Arvidsson’s skating skills can provide smoother entry and those wheels are used down low to recover pucks and tip home blasts from Pastrnak and Co.
Regarding Boston’s power-play difficulties from the previous season, Don Sweeney remarked, “Teams are killing in a certain way after taking away Pasta you know you have to execute on the other side.” However, since that’s what they’re offering you, the puck should go to the net when it gets up top. We weren’t performing at the level required for success.
We also need to do a better job. We must be responsible for that. It is up to our players to take responsibility. The irony is that four of the five players [were present] and they were ranked in the top 15 power play the previous year. However, they didn’t make the changes that other teams did. They didn’t do well enough. They have more than enough capacity. We simply need to be more connected and perform our duties more effectively.
Since 2023, Conor Ryan has worked as a staff writer for Boston.com, covering the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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