By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
Nine minutes before the free agency window opened on July 1, 2025, the Boston Bruins announced they had acquired forward Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers. The 5’10” left winger represented Sweden last season at the Four Nations Faceoff, but after a stat line of 15-12–27 with the Oilers, and bouncing in and out of the lineup during their cup run, Arvidsson was listed as a trade candidate this summer. The Oilers were in a challenging situation with their salary cap going into this summer, which resulted in them trading off players like Arvidsson and Evander Kane to free up cap space.
The Bruins will be Arvidsson’s fourth stop throughout his NHL career. He spent seven seasons with the Nashville Predators organization before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2021-22 season. Arvidsson was a member of the Kings for three seasons. On July 1, 2024, Arvidsson and the Edmonton Oilers agreed to a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $4,000,000; he has one year remaining on that contract, which he will play out as a member of the Boston Bruins.
The Nashville Predators drafted Arvidsson in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The day-two draft pick was coming off back-to-back championships with Skellefteå AIK and contributed meaningfully in both of their playoff runs. He moved to North America and scored 22 goals and 55 points in his first season with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL. He made his NHL debut with the Predators in that same season on March 21, 2015, and played six games with Nashville.
Arvidsson’s production continued to improve as time went on with Nashville. He scored 31, 29, and 34 goals in his third, fourth, and fifth seasons with the Predators, respectively. His play earned him a seven-year contract with an AAV of $4,250,000, which was signed in 2017. Injuries, however, dented the trajectory of the 30-goal scorer. Arvidsson suffered a broken thumb during the 2018-19 season and missed 21 games, but still produced a stat line of 34-14–48. He missed 12 games to a lower-body injury in the 2019-20 season, and his numbers suffered, only putting up 28 points in a pandemic-shortened season.
After two seasons of declining point totals, the Nashville Predators traded Arvidsson to the Los Angeles Kings. The trade worked out for Arvidsson and the Kings; he found his stride upon moving to Los Angeles. Arvidsson’s goal total doubled from the season before, going from ten to 20, and he found the back of the net four times on the power play. The following season, he improved again, finding the back of the net 26 times and adding 33 assists for 59 points. He finished that season by adding seven points in six playoff games.
During his first season in Los Angeles, Arvidsson worked with the man who is now the head coach of the Boston Bruins. Marco Sturm was an assistant coach on Todd McLellan’s bench, working on the power play, and he worked with Arvidsson to help the Swedish winger bounce back to form. During his introductory press conference in Boston, Arvidsson mentioned that he had a good relationship with Coach Sturm and that the two spoke after the trade.
Arvidsson suffered a back injury and missed 50 games in the 2023-24 season after getting surgery. Upon returning to the lineup for the Kings, Arvidsson sustained another injury and was out for the next 14 games. He totaled six goals and nine assists in the 18 games he played that year. That summer, he left Los Angeles and signed a two-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. He played 67 games last season, losing 15 to injury, and bounced in and out of the lineup throughout the playoffs.
Something consistent throughout Viktor Arvidsson’s career is his shot. He loves to shoot. Over the last three seasons, Arvidsson connected for 445 shots with a shooting percentage of 10.6%. That shot-first mindset will address a need for the Bruins, as the team finished 29th in shots amongst the league last season. Arvidsson’s ability to slot into a middle-six role makes him a viable candidate to be the second-line winger, right next to the likes of Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt.
Arvidsson’s power play experience will also benefit the Bruins. In his three seasons with the Kings, he scored 15 goals and added 23 assists on the man advantage. He added five assists on the power play during the Kings’ 2023 first-round series. His shot-first mentality fits right into what the Bruins were looking for; out of the free agency additions, Arvidsson has the best track record to address the need for middle-six scoring.
Although he stands at 5’10”, his net-front presence is something that the Bruins are going to love. During the press conference on July 1, Don Sweeney stated that he was looking for that in Arvidsson’s game, specifically on the power play: “Net-front. He’s got some grease there. Knows timing is also part of the net-front. Most of the guys that are effective there, they get their stick on a lot of pucks.” With a new power play system coming in, Arvidsson’s ability to play smart and gritty hockey in front of the net and around the boards will be beneficial to helping Steve Spott craft a power play.
His history of injuries is the primary concern with Arvidsson, as well as whether or not he will be able to rediscover his game here in Boston. Arvidsson has yet to play a full 82-game season in the National Hockey League; his career high is 80, which happened in 2016-17. Arvidsson has been sidelined for 79 games over the last two seasons, missing most of those games due to his back surgery at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Bouncing back from his injuries was the issue last season in Edmonton; he only scored 27 points in 67 games.
Ultimately, trading a fifth-round pick for Viktor Arvidsson represents a low-risk, high-reward gamble that the front office of the Boston Bruins was willing to take. A change of scenery has benefitted Arvidsson before; the trade from Nashville to Los Angeles helped him regain his scoring touch and boost his power play production. With his versatile skill set and established chemistry with Coach Marco Sturm, he addresses an important team need. The questions about his durability and availability remain, but if he can stay healthy, his experience and grit will be valuable assets as the Bruins look to maximize their July 1 trade acquisition.
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