Going into the offseason, there were questions surrounding which, if either, of the Boston Bruins' top unrestricted free agents would be re-signed. Forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Andrew Peeke were the two UFAs fans had their eyes on.
Read More: What Viktor Arvidsson’s next contract could look like for the Boston Bruins
Free agency is set to begin on Wednesday, and generally, if a player is re-signing, they do it by now. Of course, things could still change at the last minute, but it appears that Arvidsson, at least, is going to go to market. If he does, he'll be looking for a big payday.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman drops the Bruins potential offer to Viktor Arvidsson
Arvidsson was acquired by the Bruins on July 1, 2025, as free agency was about to begin. What an addition he was, scoring 25 goals and adding 29 assists. He was part of first-year head coach Marco Sturm's second line with Casey Mittlestadt and Pavel Zacha. However, the Bruins have some big needs and not a lot of cap space to address them.
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet revealed on The Hockey Fan Show podcast that he heard the Bruins and Sweeney offered the 33-year-old a two-year contract with an AAV of $5 million. That would be a $1 million bump in pay for Arvidsson off of what he made last season. If that is indeed the case and that's what was offered and potentially turned down, then so be it. Let him walk.
The writing has been on the wall for the last couple of days that Arvidsson's leaving could be a possibility. Just before the NHL Entry Draft on Friday, Boston acquired JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round draft picks. Peterka is making $7.7 million over the next four years. As soon as the trade was made, it signaled the likely end of Arvidsson in Boston.
Somebody is going to give Arvidsson what he wants. This isn't going to be a Tyler Bertuzzi situation like a couple of years ago, where he went to market and it took some time for him to be signed. Someone will pounce and pay him what he feels he's worth, but thankfully, it likely won't be the Bruins.
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