Los Angeles Kings right wing Viktor Arvidsson, center, tries to get a shot past Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, left, as center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins defends during the second period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series on April 28 in Los Angeles.Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, US$8-million contract and gave forwards Corey Perry and Connor Brown one-year extensions among multiple moves the club made Monday.
The Oilers, who reached the Stanley Cup final only to lose in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers less than a week before NHL free agency began, also signed 14-year NHL veteran forward Jeff Skinner to a one-year contract among more than a dozen player transactions.
Arvidsson, 31, spent the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and had 52 goals and 71 assists in 161 games during that span.
The five-foot-10, 185-pound right-winger had a goal and nine assists in a combined 11 playoff games against the Oilers this season and in 2023.
Arvidsson says Edmonton defenceman and fellow-Swede Mattias Ekholm lobbied him hard to become an Oiler.
“He probably didn’t want to play against me again,” joked Arvidsson on a media conference call Monday.
“I had a few teams (interested), but I’ve known Ekky for a long time. Our families know each other well. He convinced me pretty early and I think that was a big part of it, too.
“It’s going to be fun and exciting to have some snow again.”
Arvidsson compiled 179 goals and 183 assists in 546 career NHL games, and 13 goals and 24 assists in 72 career playoff games.
But he played only 18 regular-season games for the Kings in 2023-24 because of a back injury.
“I’m 100 per cent,” Arvidsson said. “I showed that when I was back and that’s how I feel right now, I feel great.
“I know people are concerned about that, but I’m the only guy who knows my body and I feel great and I feel confident. This is going to be a great year and I’m going to play a lot of games.”
Arvidsson had three assists in five playoff games against Edmonton in the first round this year.
“The team itself is built really well,” Arvidsson said. “I feel like they were really close this year and I hope I can help the team move even further.”
The Oilers re-signed Perry for $1.4 million and Brown for $1 million, while inking 32-year-old Skinner to a one-year deal worth $3 million.
Perry signed with the Oilers on Jan. 22 and had eight goals and five assists in 38 regular-season games. He played his career 1,300th game March 28 against the Kings and recorded his 900th career point March 16 against Colorado.
In his fourth trip to a Stanley Cup final in five years, the 39-year-old had a goal and a pair of assists in 19 playoff games in which he averaged 10 minutes 45 seconds ice time per game. Perry will play in his 20th NHL season in 2024-25.
Brown had four goals and eight assists in 71 regular-season games for the Oilers, but shone in the post-season. The 30-year-old from Toronto had two goals and four assists in 19 playoff games and led the team in short-handed points with three.
He scored short-handed in Game 5 of the Cup final against Florida, and became the third player in NHL history to record short-handed points in back-to-back Stanley Cup games.
The six-foot, 185-pound forward was a key cog in Edmonton’s stingy penalty-killing unit that allowed just four power-play goals for a 94.3 per cent success rate in the post-season.
Skinner has totalled 357 goals and 313 assists in 1,006 career games with Carolina and then Buffalo. The winger from Toronto had 24 goals and 22 assists in 74 games for the Sabres this past season.
Edmonton also signed defencemen Josh Brown to a three-year, $3-million contract and extended Troy Stecher’s contract by two years for $1.575-million.
Josh Brown, six-foot-five and 220 pounds, had three goals and seven assists in 51 games for Arizona last season. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., has 11 goals, 23 assists and 296 penalty minutes over 290 career NHL games with Florida, Ottawa, Boston and Arizona.
Edmonton acquired 30-year-old Stecher at the trade deadline from the Arizona Coyotes. He had a pair of assists in seven regular-season games for the Oilers, but didn’t play in the post-season. Stecher has tallied 19 goals and 91 assists in 494 career NHL games with Vancouver, Los Angeles, Detroit, Arizona, Calgary and Edmonton.
Also Monday, the club re-signed forward James Hamblin to a two-year, two-way contract. Forward Noah Philp, goalie Collin Delia and defencemen Connor Carrick and Noel Hoefenmayer all agreed to one-year, two-way deals that each carried an annual average value of $775,000.
And Monday evening the team announced it had re-signed forwards Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique.
The six-foot-two, 205-pound Janmark agreed to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.45 million.
Janmark had four goals and eight assists in 71 regular-season games this past season. He added four goals and four assists in 25 post-season games.
The six-foot, 195-pound Henrique agreed to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3 million.
The 34-year-old Henrique, who was acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay — via Anaheim — appeared in 17 regular-season games for the Oilers. He had 24 goals and 27 assists last season, including four goals and three assists with Edmonton. He competed in 17 post-season games with the Oilers and had four goals and three assists, including a pair of game winners against the Panthers.