The Edmonton Oilers have, at most, six days left in their season, and whether it ends Tuesday night, Friday night, or next Monday night, there will be a tight turnaround for the draft and free agency.
There’s no shortage of things to do in Edmonton, considering general manager Ken Holland’s contract expires on June 30th, the team has six draft picks — one second a fifth, two sixths and two sevenths — as well as a laundry list of expiring contracts: 10 unrestricted, and two restricted.
It doesn’t consider the fact the Oilers have just $10-million in space entering this season, opening the door for contracts to be bought out or traded, too.
While much of the organization is focused on the day-to-day of the Stanley Cup Finals, Edmonton’s front office is hard at work preparing for the offseason. The club has reportedly been keeping an eye on Los Angeles Kings unrestricted free agent winger Viktor Arvidsson, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said Tuesday on Oilersnation Everyday.
“I think he’s going to have more opportunity than (signing a one-year, rebound deal in Edmonton),” said Seravalli. “I think the Oilers have certainly kept him on their radar.
“I think Arvidsson’s a guy who makes so much sense from a compete perspective. You mention pain in the arse to play against, he’s someone that whatever the game situation is, whether it’s high-skill, speed — although he’s not a burner — just if it’s a physical, tough game, he’s all good no matter what way you want to play.
“He’s also a guy who’s been a really consistent producer. He missed a ton of games last year, he’s been dealing with those injuries that have really crippled him, in terms of his games played, and he’s someone that I think is going to be a sneaky, sneaky good addition for someone the Oilers are certainly going to be keeping tabs on.”
Arvidsson, 31, is coming off a seven-year deal paying him $4.25-million per year. He spent the first four years of the deal with the Nashville Predators, before being acquired by the Kings for draft picks in 2021. Over the course of his 10-year, 546-game career, Arvidsson has dealt with a multitude of injuries that’s seen him play over 77 games in a year just three times.
When he is in the lineup, however, he’s remained an incredibly effective player scoring 179 goals and 362 points in 546 games. In his three seasons with the Kings alone, he saw an uptick in production scoring 52 goals and 123 points in 161 games.
He’s provided consistent value as a second-line winger, according to HockeyViz.com, providing offence at a 10 percent rate above league average, and defence at a league rate average.
Evolving-Hockey projects the most likely contract for Arvidsson in free agency to a be a one-year deal paying him $3.06-million, while AFPAnalytics projects a three-year, $4.75-million deal. On a similar three-year term, Evolving-Hockey projects his deal to be worth $4.83-million.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
