Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has some big decisions to make when it comes to his own pending free agents. One of them is Viktor Arvidsson who had a season that was needed.
Along with Casey Mittlestadt and Pavel Zacha, Arvidsson completed one of the top second lines in the NHL. They were one of the reasons why the Black and Gold surprised a lot of people and made the Eastern Conference postseason as the top wild-card team.
He was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on July 1 last summer for a draft pick. He was someone who was very familiar with the new head coach, Marco Sturm, as he was an assistant coach when Arvidsson was with the Los Angeles Kings. In 69 games this season for Boston, he had 25 goals and 29 assists, both the highest totals since the 2022-23 season with the Kings.
However, it remains to be seen if Boston and Arvidsson can work out a deal before July 1. It could be complicated, as Arvidsson is certainly going to be looking for a bump in an AAV from the $4 million he earned last season. Let's see if he can meet Sweeney's price range. If not, one Atlantic Division team was urged to sign Arvidsson.
Tampa Bay Lightning urged to sign Bruins forward Viktor Arvidsson
Again, Boston could keep Arvidsson from hitting free agency by signing him before July 1; however, if they don't, then Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report urged the Tampa Bay Lightning to sign Arvidsson if he hits the open market.
"Assuming the Lightning lose Darren Raddysh in free agency, they are going to have a big hole on their defense to fill, but they also have some big issues with their depth scoring to address,'' wrote Gretz.
"Arvidsson had a bounce-back year in 2025-26 by scoring 25 goals with 54 total points as a member of the Boston Bruins, and even at 33, he could still be a formidable middle-six winger for a contending team like the Lightning.
"They do not have a ton of salary cap space to work with, but Arvidsson could fit in within their available allotment."
So here's the thing. The Bruins need a right-shot defenseman, and Darren Raddysh would be a perfect fit. Tampa Bay requires offense, and Arvidsson is someone who Gretz thinks could fill that need. The problem for Boston is that the Lightning have a ton of cap space where they could likely pay Arvidsson more than Sweeney could. This could be something to watch the longer he remains unsigned and the closer we get to free agency.
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