Moving along with the second line is a look at Viktor Arvidsson’s 2022-23 season. Arvidsson built upon the progress he established during a bounce-back 2021-22 campaign as he joined the Kings organization, with increased numbers across the board.
Viktor Arvidsson
LAK Statline – 77 games played, 26 goals, 33 assists, -4 rating, 24 penalty minutes
Playoff Statline – 6 games played, 1 goal, 7 assists, -2 rating, 2 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 52.8% (+0.5%), SCF% – 54.2% (+1.7%), HDCF% – 54.9% (+0.6%)
Production-wise, terrific season for Arvidsson. Lost in the addition of Kevin Fiala, one of the NHL’s best playmaking forwards, was the playmaking season that Arvidsson put together for the Kings, as he showcased an ability to make plays with his passing, his shooting, his skating and his stickhandling. An offensive forward, Arvidsson continued to fit within the system the Kings set out to play, while still standing out with his creation abilities offensively. More on his campaign below.
Trending Up – Viktor Arvidsson returned to form offensively during the 2021-22 season. How did he follow that up? He scored more goals, tallied more assists and collected more points in the 2022-23 season. Arvidsson’s 33 assists were a career high. He broke 25 goals for the first time since the 2018-19 season and 55 points for the first time since the 2017-18 season. What was even more impressive was how Arvidsson recovered from a slow start, which saw his first month of the season well below his season-long offensive totals. Arvidsson was scoreless through the team’s first six games, but got stronger and strong as the season went along. Including the playoffs, Arvidsson had 25 points from his final 25 games played. Can’t ask for a much better way to conclude the season.
The LA Kings were massively improved on the power play this season and Arvidsson posted the best power-play season of his NHL career. On a per/60 basis, Arvidsson set career bests in power-play goals, assists and points. Not only were his totals career highs, but they ranked among the NHL’s best in terms of power-play production. Arvidsson ranked sixth in the NHL in power-play points per/60 among players with at least 100 man-up minutes. As the primary playmaker on the second unit, Arvidsson collected 10 primary assists and on a per/60 basis, he ranked ninth in the league in that category. A big part of that unit, with a terrific power-play campaign.
Trending Down – Consider this a follow-up to Arvidsson’s trending down last season – Well outside of Arvidsson’s control, but coming off of offseason back surgery, his start to the season was much slower than he would have liked. He practiced with the team from day one of training camp but played in only the final exhibition game. It was commendable the way he worked to be ready for Opening Night, but he was scoreless through the first six games of the season and outside of a three-point effort in Washington, had just two other points in October, missing one game with an illness along the way. By his own admission, he didn’t feel like himself in those early games. Finally looking at a summer of health, Arvidsson will look to fly out of the gates at his end-of-season pace, which could make a great output even greater.
Arvidsson’s statistical profile also changed a bit this season. In 2021-22, there was perhaps no higher volume shooter than Arvidsson, who ranked inside the NHL’s Top 5 in individual shot attempts, shots on goal, scoring chances and rush attempts on a per/60 basis. This season……he simply led the Kings. Not too shabby, even if lower than it was a season ago. Trending down in terms of the league rankings, where he fell from a Top-5 player to a Top-40 player but he was still atop the Kings in the bulk of the volume categories, while he saw an uptick in his overall assist numbers.
2023-24 Outlook– Viktor Arvidsson was acquired from Nashville with three seasons remaining on a contract that looked pretty team-friendly if he could return to the heights he achieved with the Predators. He’s now done that and two seasons later, he’s entering the final year of his contract, eligible for unrestricted free agency come the summer of 2024. He is eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but left all options open moving forward.
“I haven’t focused on that, really,” he said at his exit interview. “I was just trying to stay healthy and get my game back. I thought I did that this year. We’ll see what happens, I don’t want to close any doors or anything moving forward.”
We all see the speculation as it relates to various players on a team that is tight to the cap, but Arvidsson has proved to be a terrific fit here with the Kings in his time here. Assuming Arvidsson will be with the Kings, which is all we can do for the purpose of this article, he is a versatile, top-six winger who has established clear chemistry on his regular line with Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore, though he also flashed potential playing on the first line in Game 6 of the postseason. He’s never had an extended run with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, but that small sample size was promising. A talented playmaker and offensive force. Wherever he lines up come September gives the Kings options in one way or another, which is important when factoring in the players the Kings have up front.
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