The Boston Bruins made a trade with the Edmonton Oilers shortly before the NHL free agent market opened Tuesday.
The Oilers are sending forward Viktor Arvidsson to the Bruins in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, the teams announced. Arvidsson waived his no-trade clause to allow the deal to go through, per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
Arvidsson is entering the final season of a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million salary cap hit). The Bruins will have about $8.7 million in cap space after this trade.
The 32-year-old left wing provides some much-needed scoring depth to Boston’s lineup.
He had a bit of a down 2024-25 season with the Oilers, scoring 15 goals with 12 assists in 67 games. He scored 26 goals for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2022-23 campaign. He has scored 20-plus goals five times in his career.
Arviddson can be a dangerous player off the rush and isn’t afraid to fire pucks on net — two attributes the Bruins need to add.
There were 380 forwards last season who logged at least 500 even-strength minutes, per Natual Stat Trick, and Arvidsson ranked 19th with 9.56 shots per 60 minutes.
Arvidsson isn’t going to be a huge difference-maker for the Bruins, but he’s a solid buy-low addition.
New Bruins head coach Marco Sturm was an assistant during Arvidsson’s first season with the Kings in 2021-22, so he already has some familiarity with the Swedish forward.