In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on the trade that sent Viktor Arvidsson to Los Angeles for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks.
Todd Cordell
I thought it was a nice bit of business for the Kings.
I know Arvidsson hasn’t been as productive of late but I think there are a few obvious explanations for that. For one, John Hynes-coached teams generally don’t score a ton of goals. They play a defense-first style and try to be selective in the offensive zone, waiting for that one big chance and hoping to be opportunistic. That doesn’t really lead to a bunch of high scorers on the team.
Arvidsson was also crushed by a lack of puck luck. He shot 6.6% last season after coming in at 11.74% or higher in four straight seasons prior. Even if Arvidsson, now 28, has peaked, it’s fair to say he’s not *half* the shooter he was just over a year ago.
His on-ice impacts are strong – Evolving-Hockey had his even-strength offense worth the same GAR as names like Mark Scheifele and Nicklas Backstrom – and there’s definitely hope he could pop again in a new spot.
The Kings have been short on true top-6 talents for a while now so I think this is a worthwhile gamble for them. They want to start climbing the standings and surrounding their young core of prospects with quality veterans like Arvidsson seems like a good way to do that.
As for Nashville: picks are nice and all – so is cap space – but a couple lottery tickets with a 20-30% chance of becoming NHL regulars seems pretty underwhelming when you're a playoff team giving up a top-6 forward.
I like the trade for LA.
Sean Maloughney Ultimately it's a good deal for both sides. The Preds are clearly preparing for a semi rebuild/retool or whatever you would like to call it. Acquiring a second and third for Arvidsson after some down seasons is good value for the Preds.
On the other side the Kings get a player that could rebound in a different environment and if he does he is an excellent 5 on 5 producer and strong top six option.
The curious thing is what this means for the Kings. I would argue they are still some time from competing. Regardless they are making good trades and acquiring good players. A novel strategy.
numbers via Evolving-Hockey.com and NaturalStatTrick.com