Red Wings Could Target Arvidsson as Budget Top-Six Fit with Raymond

Edmonton Oilers are actively shopping forward Viktor Arvidsson, who has ties with Detroit's Lucas Raymond

The NHL landscape is just days away from changing drastically as the NHL entry draft takes place this Friday in Los Angeles followed by the start of free agency next Tuesday on July 1st. The Detroit Red Wings have been involved in many trade and free agent rumours with GM Steve Yzerman and company looking to add in weaker points of their lineup. 

One of those areas of need is another top six forward as the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko didn't work out as planned last season and resulted in the former All-star contributing just 33 points through 80 games. This begs the question of who the Red Wings should go out and look to add with one new name joining the fold as a potential option. 

The Edmonton Oilers are coming off their second straight loss in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers and have been rumoured to make some serious changes. One is a planned separation with winger Viktor Arvidsson, who like Tarasenko, was expected to join the Oilers lineup and produce potentially top six point production but fell flat with injuries playing a factor. 

The Swedish winger finished with just 27 points through 67 games last season and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, among other similar reports, confirmed on Monday, the team will be looking to move Arvidsson before he enters the final year of his two-year, $8 million contract. 

The 32-year-old has shown flashes of being a top end player with multiple 60-point seasons throughout his career. If he can find the right spot for him, then he could potentially find that upside once again and would work as a relatively cheap option with a $4 million cap hit. 

Fellow Swedish winger Lucas Raymond could potentially get the production out of Arvidsson if the Red Wings were to make a trade. The chances are they likely don't have to give up much as it's been noted, Edmonton is looking to get rid of him and Detroit can see if it would be a fit. Raymond has played with Arvidsson in the past most recently on Team Sweden at the Four Nations Face-Off this past February. 

The players are familiar with each other and could lead to a get discount deal for Detroit to get a top-six forward. They've been linked to the likes of Brock Boeser, Mitch Marner and other high-end wingers this off-season but the addition of Arvidsson wouldn't cost much and has the chance to be a great addition that would be cheap enough to allow the team to still go out and pursue more free agents to fill lineup holes. 

The duo of Raymond and an elite centre like Dylan Larkin will be better than the cast Arvidsson played with this past season in Mattias Janmark and Vasily Podkolzin with occasional time alongside superstar Leon Draisaitl during the regular season. 

It's a move that the Red Wings should consider as they will be able to save a lot of money while also making a key addition in their top-six forward group and allow themselves more cap flexibility entering free agency. If failing to land on a big fish forward like Boeser or Marner, they could look back to Arvidsson as a backup option as well.