Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon discusses “one player who has to deliver for every Atlantic Division team,” and he’s not wrong in suggesting that 33-year-old free agent signing Viktor Arvidsson faces a significant amount of pressure to step up and replace Detroit’s losses in the secondary scoring department:
Detroit Red Wings: Viktor Arvidsson
Arvidsson posted 54 points last year for the Bruins, his best total since consecutive 61-point showings for the Nashville Predators in 2016-2017 and 2017-18.
Now, he lands in Detroit on a two-year deal with a Wings club that features all kinds of top-six uncertainty thanks to Dylan Larkin’s trade request and Patrick Kane’s departure as a UFA.
Even in a year that went well for him, Arvidsson missed 13 games due to injury and the 33-year-old hasn’t played 75 games in a season in nearly 10 years. With all the volatility in Detroit, there’s no doubt the Wings need Arvidsson to provide a steady dose of secondary scoring. Without that, Detroit could be in a world of trouble.
Continued; Arvidsson will have to prove durable and consistent for the Red Wings to succeed, but that’s the truth about players like Marco Kasper, Emmitt Finnie and the rest of the Red Wings’ secondary scorers as well.
