Should the Bruins Re-Sign Victor Arvidsson? | Ep. 144

0:00 Speaker 1: Can you start a podcast with me please? I need something to do. I'll Jack send it out a triple bocking to say, today, here's a chance pop right down with goalie Scars. Oh my one. A move by the rookie to on.

0:25 Speaker 2: One plaster not moving in shoe it on his own oil dances in podcast.

0:32 Speaker 1: Wait at home right away corner pastersta.

0:40 Speaker 3: What is that for?

0:41 Speaker 2: Moston?

0:50 Speaker 1: Welcome in everyone to another episode of Bruins Tape to tape. I will be your host today. I am Maria from Watertown. Before I introduce my lovely co host, I just want to give you a little bit of background on what we're doing this summer. We're continuing our series of revisiting the Boston Rulins roster in terms of who may stay, who may go, those we might want to keep, what our projections might have been early on in the season for some of the roster players and where things ended up today. But this episode, our profile will be on Victor Ardwardson.

1:29 Speaker 1: So with that being said, welcome in, my friend Caroline. How are you today? Good?

1:34 Speaker 4: How are you boo? Excellent?

1:37 Speaker 2: I'm excited to come back to Victor Irvinson because he was one that I think we were really excited about and we didn't really know a ton of and I think.

1:47 Speaker 4: I'm pretty happy with how that one turned out.

1:50 Speaker 1: I think we are both going to be patting ourselves on the back to some degree because we did a profile on Victor Arberdson back in August of twenty twenty five, and again we didn't know a whole lot about him. We knew of him, but because he predominantly played the majority of his career with the Nashville Predators and then spent a little bit of time with the Edmonton Oilers, we didn't get to see a lot of arvidsim I'm going to let you be the leadoff hitter with regard to what we said then and where we are now with Victor.

2:25 Speaker 4: Yeah, I love this pickup.

2:27 Speaker 2: So as a brief overview, we got him technically as a trade, although it really felt like a free agency signing because I believe it even was.

2:36 Speaker 4: Announced in the morning of July first, before free agency opened up at noon that day.

2:42 Speaker 2: Like you said, this is a player who has spent if not all, majority of his career out West. He also had a stint in LA and that was one of the things that we.

2:51 Speaker 4: Hadn't forgought about.

2:53 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was one of the things that we had discussed about his ability to fit in with whatever Marco Sturm's system was going to look like, because they had that personal connection from both of them being in LA At the same time, it certainly felt like Arvidson wanted out of Edmonton and Edmonton was in a we need to shed some cap space situation, and so it worked out for both of them because Arvidson had to sign.

3:21 Speaker 4: Off on leaving and where he would go, and he chose Boston.

3:25 Speaker 2: So another reason why it felt a little bit like a free agency signing, not just because of the time, and he came.

3:32 Speaker 4: In fairly cheap.

3:34 Speaker 2: He had a two year contract for four million for each year in Edmonton. And of course then the second year I was in Boston and there was a trade the Bruins turned over a twenty twenty seven defierent. I don't know what the value of that pick is, but I think Lewin's made out the Bruins. I think we're pretty fine with doing that because that was certainly a cap sheds situation for Edmonton, and I think the only potential downside that we could even assume with Victor Arbinson coming in was.

4:10 Speaker 4: A little bit his age. He's thirty three, and so for a forward, you might.

4:15 Speaker 2: Start to see a little bit of slippage in terms of speed and agility and recovery. And that piece was the biggest question mark, which was is he going to be healthy. He had some back issues in the past, and he's had he's missed some time in the past, and so that was really the only question mark.

4:33 Speaker 4: On the flip side, he.

4:34 Speaker 1: Hasn't played legitimately close to a full season since twenty sixteen. Twenty seventeen with Nashville, he played eighty games and then it's been a slow kind of missing games since then. Even with the Bruins this season, but it was the most that he's played in a while.

4:52 Speaker 2: In twenty twenty three, that was the year he only played eighteen That was the significant surgery year. So he and he was there for three seasons and only one season with Edmonton. I assume that they wanted to bring him in for all the same reasons that I think anyone would want to bring someone like him in. He's I think he's a little bit of a dark horse, and I think that's also how we perceived him coming in and having spent an entire season watching him, I would even still call him a dark horse, especially compared to other members of the Boston Bruins.

5:26 Speaker 2: But he turned out to be a very reliable player and someone that you could expect to be clutched in a lot of really important situations. Not just the fact that he was able to be a part of a line that was almost unchanged all season because of just how well they worked together, and that being the line that was centered by Pablo Zaka, and then he shared a wing position with Casey Middlestaff now and that line. Let me just let us just add because this is very important to note. At one point during the Redgular season that Trio was probably the Bran.

6:03 Speaker 2: They were the Brulin's best lie but they were one of the best lines in hockey.

6:09 Speaker 4: They were at a pretty good club.

6:11 Speaker 2: Yeah, And he one of the other things that I really enjoyed about him, And I will say, I don't know if we actually touched on this. Besides his speed, he's got an excellent skating ability and his ability to enter the zone. A pretty reasonable shooting percentage nine point three is what he actually ended up with at the end of this season, and the percent of shots on net was almost sixty four percent, so he was certainly not afraid to take shots. His predicted shooting talent is above average for the season, and I think what should not be shocking whatsoever.

6:45 Speaker 2: One of the newer metrics that we've been discussing as of late and will continue to discuss, because I think this is really important when we're considering the trades are going to be coming, and free agency is going to be coming, and who's going to be leaving and who's going to be coming in considering can you get someone better than what you currently have? Is the goals above replacement and the wins above replacement and the standings points above replacement. So how much does this player contribute to the team with goals to wins and points in the standings and should be no surprise whatsoever.

7:19 Speaker 2: Who is number one pretty much across the board David Pasternat Obviously he's the most talented player on the team, but number two for goals above replacement, Victor Arvidson. He had a tremendous year. He had an incredible impact, even though he didn't play.

7:37 Speaker 4: Eighty two games.

7:39 Speaker 2: His ability to be impactful in the time that he was on ice was significant, and I really am wondering what is going to happen with him and his contract because I'm not sure what else the front office is actually looking for and what they want now. Are they hoping that they can can get someone who is maybe statistically more like him but for less or who is younger, who could they can have for a lot longer. But I will say that we have not seen a consistent veteran presence on this.

8:17 Speaker 4: Team in years.

8:18 Speaker 2: We've talked about the last five seasons as being a little bit more chaotic, more volatile, because there hasn't been that steady Eddy presence that we saw for the previous fifteen seasons. We've seen a variety of players come in to serve that role, but they've never stuck around for more than two seasons because they do tend to be older players. These are the guys have seen everything. Arvidstin's been to the Stanley Cup Final, he was with Edmonton when they lost the second time to the Panthers.

8:49 Speaker 2: So I don't really know what they're thinking in terms of contract extensions or whatnot. But and as we get closer and closer a worry that they're going to have him walk. He's a high energy, transition driving middle six winger. He brings a lot of pace, which Boston does not have much of, good for checking pressure, a ton of shot generation, offensive zone movement, and chaos. That's something that we need. But he's not he's not a playmaker per se.

9:23 Speaker 1: He's not flashy. But he does his job. He does his job, he works hard, he's responsible with the puck. He's got good speed, he's got good hands, he has, as you stated, a shoot first mentality, which is was sorely needed by this sorely needed by this team. We're not going to do any revisionist history because it's already hot enough in my office today. I don't want to get myself all worked up. But in sixty nine games, if you had told me that, in just even playing sixty nine games, Victor dwitzten would have contributed twenty five goals and twenty nine assists.

9:59 Speaker 1: Eve been playing a full season. So this player definitely has values. Now the pros and cons of that is another team might see that value as well, and that could translate into a bigger payday for Victor Arvidson. And not a payday that the Ruins can ill afford to fall into. Perhaps I would like him not to be a casualty of a roster that has limited financial flexibility right now.

10:30 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's again, it's what is his ask from his camp. I'm sure that money and term are obviously the biggest sticking points, because that's basically all these contracts are four million dollars. And if you think about who else is out there as a forward, you've got someone like Charlie Coyle, who again this is a pro Charlie Coyle podcast. However, the Columbus Blue Jackets just offered him and absolutely astonished extension for someone who is mostly suited for the third line, can perform well second line.

11:09 Speaker 2: So again, a middle six.

11:12 Speaker 1: Reminds you of listeners of Charlie's deal, because I want to cut out some subtle differences.

11:18 Speaker 2: It's a six year, six million dollar AAV contract. And look and Charlie's how old and Charlie is basically the same. He's thirty four years old and Victor Arvidson is currently he just turned thirty three, so they're the same age. Now, granted, there might be listeners who may say but Charlie is a center and Arvidson is a wing, all right, but we're still talking about a middle six player with different Yeah, they have different skill sets.

11:50 Speaker 1: All the players have skill sets. Charlie has longevity, and when I say longevity, he is a workhorse. He very rarely misses for any significant period of time. And he has also established himself as a leader. He was a leader on that Columbus Blue Jackets team. I think I believe that he exhibited leadership qualities while he was here in Boston. He never was rewarded for that with being provided with an a and I don't even know how often he got an alternating game that someone was out, which sometimes I found a little I don't know, kind of left a little sour taste in my mouth on occasion.

12:29 Speaker 1: But that's where I see the differences in those players. Is that Charlie, Charlie's going to be there the game after game. Now where Victor he's got this history. Now he's going to miss ten fifteen, likely ten to fifteen games a year, if not more than that. You could maybe work that into the equation or a reasonable contract with reasonable term. What I don't want to see the Bruins do is take a thirty three year old forward and give him six or seven years.

13:00 Speaker 4: That's crazy. You can't and I don't think that they would.

13:03 Speaker 3: But there are some crazy contracts up, as we have discussed in previous episodes already, namely the various limp Holme contracts that will put me at.

13:14 Speaker 4: Mid mid middle late thirties.

13:16 Speaker 1: Honestly, if I had a choice in this situation, if both Elias lind Home and I know Elias is a center and Victor is not a center, but if I had to pick and both players were in the same situation, sorry, I'm going to make Victor Arvidson a priority over Elias Lundvill. That's just how I feel about what those players have brought to this roster.

13:40 Speaker 2: Yeah, and for Victor Arvidson, who does this team want to be because it's not just what veteran presence is going to be there. That's going to be a constant or a consistent voice in the room to assist the leadership corps because no matter who ends up as captain, the leadership corps is still younger. And although Pasternak is turning thirty, but what are they going to try and prioritize.

14:08 Speaker 4: Is it going to be that.

14:10 Speaker 2: Defensive structure they're gonna aim to have those shut down games where that's very minimal scoring, or are they going to start to try and invest in more goal scorers. Because if that's the case, then there has to be a very good reason why they would not re sign Victor Arbitson because he not only like we said, his shooting percentage is very high with that shot first mentality, he absolutely performed in a way in regards to the number of goals that he scored and his expected goals. The guy is a sniper.

14:44 Speaker 2: He was one of the top goal scorers. He clearly makes a measurable and meaningful impact on the team's ability to score goals. Listen, what have we been crying about and whinding about for years years? Lack of secondary scoring. Lack of secondary scoring.

15:03 Speaker 1: Now, it did dry up in the playoffs at scoring dried up in the series against Buffalo. If to me, it was somewhat, I don't want to say significant, but problematic. When Victor Arbuston went down with his injury too, I think that had an impact on what the Bruins were or weren't able to do against the Sabers and his impact with the wins above replacement. He has a two point one wins above replacement and four standing points, which means it's effectively the same thing that he If you were to bring in some other average player or replacement player, he was contributing and making two more wins happen than you would expect under other circumstances.

15:46 Speaker 1: That's four more points.

15:47 Speaker 2: And in an Atlantic division that is arguably the best, most competitive division in the entire league, every single stinking point matters, every goal matters. And so what is the alternative I don't know, but his overall impact on the game elevated. I think the product on the ice when it comes to the Boston Bruins, because it's either been for the last couple of years flat or a bit of a circus in not a good way. And so he brought in a level of play, a quality of play where you saw very positive territorial play, a lot of offensive driving value that he brought to the table.

16:30 Speaker 4: And I really hope that we don't.

16:32 Speaker 1: Lose this guy. No, yeah, yes, I agree with you. I would like them to keep him. I see more upside than downside, other than the injury factor with him. I guess what you can say about him is that at least it's not the same injury over and over again. I don't know if that's good or a bad thing. Whereas with Elias Slntolme, all we keep hearing about even from the day, even before he even got here, we keep hearing about this back injury that keeps hindering his play or his ability to play up to the level that we were expecting him to play.

17:09 Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.

17:10 Speaker 1: And it sounds like I'm going at Elia slung Woman. Maybe I am a little bit because even when he wasn't or we didn't hear about the back injury, there were stretches where he was invisible. And I don't see that in Victor Arditz. I think we were excited about what this guy could bring to the table. Yes, and he to me, he proved himself worthy, or he has proven himself worthy of getting another contract from the Bruins at a reasonable price. Now he's got a factor in as well. Right, he's thirty three years old.

17:46 Speaker 1: He has a difficult time playing a full season if he likes it well enough here in Boston, and by all accounts, it sounds like he does, and he did. Let's meet in the middle here and make a deal.

17:58 Speaker 2: Agreed, agreed, So I would like to certainly see him come back. If not, then the Bruins are going to have to try and find somebody who can drive the puck the same way.

18:08 Speaker 1: Who is going to now another hole and you're already fulfilled roster, right? Who else can Boston bring in then?

18:17 Speaker 2: Who has the same level of pace that for checking, pressure, transition, offense, possession driving someone who's strung on the puck. We've got a number of players on the Bruins team that they can get the puck, but they can't keep the puck because they just are strong.

18:33 Speaker 1: If you're Audredson and his agency, you're obviously going to use that to your advantage. Right, this might be his last contract. Let's face fast, right it could be. With that being said, you want to make it a good payday for yourself before you sail off into the sunset exactly.

18:49 Speaker 4: So a plus to Victor Arvidson this year.

18:53 Speaker 1: No, it's fun in my see, I'm a heart a great no, because he didn't get a full season. I would give him an a plus or I guess, but I'm like a minus B plus, A minus B plus.

19:05 Speaker 2: For me, the reason why I'm giving him such a high rating is because of just how efficient he was when he was there.

19:12 Speaker 1: I'm just like, it's hard for me to give anybody on the Ruins roster an A plus. I just think that is like a standard of the level of performance is through the room, right, but also.

19:25 Speaker 2: Knowing they knew all of that going into the season, and I think if you look at him from the lens of we know he's injury prone, that it is a possibility. But he made a significant impact while he was there. And I think if for what I hesitate to think, for as stupid as we think the frontal is most of the time, you know that he's going to be likely injury prone, there has to be a plan. There has to be something to manage that. So those things consider a plus.

20:00 Speaker 1: Trade.

20:01 Speaker 2: Let's see a reasonably good signing who or at least someone who can do what.

20:05 Speaker 4: He that's valid the trade itself.

20:08 Speaker 1: The grade on the trade, Yes, I will grant you that that is definitely an A plus because you've got a very serviceable, steady, reliable and when I say reliable, when he's on the ice, he's reliable, you know what trying to get, you know what you're going to get for a draft pick that would likely may not amount to anything. And we know, given the way, honestly, given the way that the Bruins staff assesses young talent, we could have given away a diamond in the rock because they're too numb to see one when they're scouted.

20:39 Speaker 2: So yeah, and I would argue actually that Arvidson probably even overperformed a little bit, or at least maybe not. I certainly didn't expect the amount of goal scoring, but I have to imagine the scouts knew what he's doing.

20:51 Speaker 1: No, but that was a nice find by Marco Stern to put that group together, and Pavel Zaka certainly mows definitely benefited from that. Let's not forget the PAP two. It sounds like, from what's already percolating in the rumor mil that the Bruins are making Populzaka a priority in terms of extending him, and what that contract may be could have an impact on what you do with Arkidson.

21:21 Speaker 4: Could it? Certainly could.

21:22 Speaker 2: You've also got still one more year of Keithy Middlestaff. His contract is a five point seven to five cap hit.

21:30 Speaker 4: That's It's not a cheap line by any stretch.

21:33 Speaker 2: No, no, but if you think about it, the number of points that line scored certainly exceeded what we were saying was a requirement from the second line.

21:44 Speaker 1: By that line basically got the goaltending, and that line basically got them into the playoffs the second half of the season. Late, I would say, late.

21:53 Speaker 2: Yeah, And Zaka he's eligible for a contract extension in July at four to seven. I think you're very correct in your assumption that if they see him as staying part of the Boston Bruins for another stretch of time.

22:10 Speaker 1: He's It sounds like when you read between the lines listening to Neelie and Sweeney, that they want Pavel Zaka to be a part of this rebuild and this kind of core nucleus that you're going to work around.

22:25 Speaker 2: Yep, yeah, so we shall see. It's also entirely possible. Then ultimately what ends up happening is that there's just no room. But I hope that's not the case. But I definitely want to see more players like him come into this lesson's orbit. I think we should preface that first by saying what I want them. What I want to see first is have a clear concise definition of what kind of team you want to be. The going back and forth and going back and forth from one extreme to another. Let's cut the shit now and decide what you want to be as an organization and how you want to play and define it and get players for the most part that play within that system and structure.

23:05 Speaker 2: But we'll see if that comes to fruition. So I think all in all, I think we're both in agreement that Victor Arvidson was a success on the Gruins. We would like to see him return in a Bruins uniform for a reasonable price and a reasonable term. Yes, yep, absolutely so, thank you for listening, folks. We're going to continue with these brief little player profiles as the off season builds up to free agency. In the meantime, please feel free to give us a rating or our review. You can find us on our social medias.

23:43 Speaker 2: You can also find us on our substack at Tape to Tape mk dot substack dot com and our other social media at Tape to Tape and closing any closing thoughts, my friend go bes go Bruins, still b