Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has his work cut out for him ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline.
Evander Kane’s no-movement clause changed to a 16-team approved trade list late last week, and Bowman is already working on the phones to see if there’s a market for the winger.
But he’s not the only Oilers player whose name has popped up in the rumour mill in Edmonton, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts Podcast Monday morning that Viktor Arvidsson’s name has begun floating around.
The only caveat? Arvidsson has a no movement clause that was only just reported publicly.
The other thing that’s suddenly a topic in Oiler land is Viktor Arvidsson. It’s been a tough situation for him. He hasn’t fit in as well as I think the Oilers and Arvidsson would’ve hoped. For the Oilers fans who were maybe talking about moving him, and I think the Oilers might be looking into it too, there’s something that popped up that I don’t think any of us realized — I know I didn’t.I checked a couple of the sites out there that track these kinds of things, but Arvidsson has a no move clause and that doesn’t mean he would’ve necessarily be willing to work with the team, but he does have control over the situation. That’s something I didn’t realize until recently. I’m sure the Oilers knew about it, but all of us and the general public, we didn’t really know about it.But I think the bigger issue might be the next year at $4-million. He’s got one more year and that may be a challenge for some teams. That’s another thing the Oilers and Arvidsson will have to work through if they do want to move him.
Friedman later reported on social media that Arvidsson isn’t the only player the Oilers signed last summer with a previously unreported no-movement clause, either. Adam Henrique also has such a clause in his contract.
The summer of Jeff Jackson truly is a gift that keeps on giving.
Arvidsson’s season has been disappointing, scoring just seven goals and 19 points in 45 games, despite spending over half of his five-on-five ice-time with the NHL’s leading goal scorer, Leon Draisaitl. The Swedish winger’s impacts have been in line with his recent seasons, driving offence at a seven percent rate above league average and defence at a three percent rate below league average, driving play a the rate of a second-line winger, according to HockeyViz.
One issue for Arvidsson has been a lack of shot volume over the course of the 2024-25 season, taking just 2.22 shots on goal per game. That’s down a full shot from the 3.19 he averaged per game over his three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.
Nonetheless, Friedman’s report of Arvidsson potentially being willing to work with the Oilers on finding a fresh start could open up options in the teams deadline plans.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
