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Can Viktor Arvidsson give the Bruins a much-needed scoring punch?
"I think Marco knows exactly what he’s getting from me."
The ball was in Viktor Arvidsson’s court this offseason when it came to his next destination.
Even though his individual production waned in 2024-25 with the Oilers (15 goals, 27 points in 67 games), a spot in Edmonton has seemingly guaranteed a long playoff push each spring, especially with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way.
But, even with Arvidsson signed through 2025-26 in Edmonton at an agreeable $4 million cap hit, the 32-year-old winger opted to waive his no-trade clause last week to approve a trade to the Bruins.
A spirited postseason run may not be the cards for a retooling Bruins roster in 2025-26.
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But, getting the opportunity to reunite with one of his former coaches in Los Angeles in Marco Sturm stood as an enticing proposition for Arvidsson moving forward.
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“I didn’t bring the names [of Boston’s free-agent additions with links to Los Angeles] up. They did. Let’s start that way, right?” Sturm told Boston.com. “It just turned out I had them and we were in the same organization, funny enough. And that helped, especially with Arvy.
“He had a no-move clause, and he did it, not just because he wanted to come to Boston and have a great opportunity, but also the relationship I had with him in the past.”
Entering a contract season, Arvidsson believes the opportunity afforded in Boston to both play for Sturm and potentially earn featured offensive reps was too good to pass up.
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“I’m gonna come there, I’m gonna play a responsible game, and I think Marco knows exactly what he’s getting from me,” Arvidsson said. “I’m gonna help offensively and bring scoring. I know I can do that. I know I had a little bit of a tough time last year with that and the opportunity. I’m gonna bring that, I know that. I’m really confident that I’m gonna make the team better.
“Knowing Marco from before, me and him have a really good relationship,” Arvidsson said. “I think (it’s) gonna be a fun year.”
The Bruins are hoping last week’s trade benefits all parties — especially if Arvidsson can add a scoring spark to a forward corps short on high-end talent.
Boston’s top priority this offseason was evident: more firepower up front.
Despite David Pastrnak’s continued offensive brilliance (43 goals, 106 points) and a breakout season from Morgan Geekie (33 goals), Boston still ranked 28th in the NHL in goals per game, 29th in power-place percentage, and 29th in shots on goal per contest.
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But, Boston opted to focus most of their signings and offseason pickups on hard-nosed, bottom-six players like Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont — with Arvidsson standing as the lone outlier as a winger with legitimate 20-goal upside.
Beefing up Boston’s forward corps could make them tougher to play against, night in and night out.
But if the Bruins still can’t put pucks on net and generate offense, they’re seemingly set to get stung by the same flaws that dismantled all hope of a competitive product in 2024-25.
As such, plenty is riding on Arvidsson to inject some offense into his new team, likely on a second line that could also feature the likes of Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt.
Arvidsson’s track record speaks for itself when it comes to knack for lighting the lamp.
He has scored 20 or more goals five times in his career, including a pair of 30-plus-goal campaigns in 2016-17 (31 tallies) and 2018-19 (34 goals) with the Predators.
But, the last few seasons haven’t been as fruitful for the Swedish forward.
Arvidsson dealt with injuries during the 2023-24 season with the Kings — undergoing back surgery in October before later dealing with a nagging lower-body issue. In just 18 games, Arvidsson still scored six goals and posted 15 points that season.
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With Edmonton, Arvidsson struggled to get into a rhythm further down the lineup, especially on a power-play unit where he has traditionally served in more of a shifty netfront role. He scored just one goal and posted two assists on the Oilers’ elite man advantage.
It was a far cary from his previous results on the power play, such as the 2022-23 season in L.A. where Arvidsson scored 10 goals on the man advantage to go along with 15 assists.
“A lot of factors played into it, I think,” Arvidsson said of his dip in production last year. “I’m as responsible [for it] as everybody else was … I just have to look at myself as a person and a player. I truly believe that. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
With Boston, more featured reps should be available for Arvidsson — be it on the top power-play unit or in a second-line spot, where his shot-first approach should stand as a breath of fresh air with playmakers like Zacha and Mittelstadt.
As Sturm prioritizes shot volume and pace as he augments Boston’s offensive approach, Arvidsson should be a willing participant.
Of the 596 NHLers last season who logged at least 500 minutes of even-strength ice time, Arvidsson ranked 19th with 9.57 shots per 60 minutes (per Natural Stat Trick).
But, as Boston braces itself for a season where 5-on-5 scoring is going to be hard to unearth when Pastrnak is not on the ice, Sturm and his staff are banking on a rebound season from a power-play unit that, personnel-wise, should have some upside.
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That optimism is echoed by Arvidsson, who said that Sturm served as his power-play coach in Los Angeles before the now-Bruins bench boss made the move to the AHL ranks.
“I think it 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,” Arvidsson said of his new head coach. “It wasn’t just X’s and O’s. It was trying to always and every day improve it, having a big bank of plays, situational plays that were effective. He played the game and he knows what it’s all about.”
If Arvidsson’s skating ability can generate cleaner entries — and those wheels are utilized down low to recover pucks and tip home blasts from Pastrnak and Co. — Boston’s offseason pickup could be a remedy to the team’s special-teams woes.
“Teams are killing in a certain way after taking away Pasta — you know you have to execute on the other side,” Don Sweeney said of Boston’s power-play struggles last season. “But when that puck comes up top, it’s supposed to go to the net — because that’s what they’re giving you. … We weren’t executing at the level you need to to be successful.
“And we need a better job. We have to take ownership of that. Our players have to take ownership of it. The funny part about it was — they were top-15 power play the year before, four out of the five guys [were there]. But other teams made adjustments, and they didn’t. They didn’t do a good enough job. They’re more than capable. We just have to do a better job being connected and executing what we’re supposed to do.”
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