Viktor Arvidsson will make his season debut for the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils, giving the Kings an important player for the playoff stretch.
Arvidsson has been out while recovering from the back surgery he underwent in October. It was the second back procedure for the 30-year-old right wing in less than 18 months.
The previous surgery came in 2022, which caused him to miss that postseason series against Edmonton. In 2022-23, Arvidsson responded with one of his best seasons in years, as he had 26 goals and 59 points in 77 games. He added another goal and six assists in the Kings’ six-game, first-round playoff loss to the Oilers.
Kings general manager Rob Blake has been able to use Arvidsson’s $4.25 million salary-cap number on long-term injured reserve as a cushion to keep extra players available, despite the Kings being near the cap ceiling all season. But to activate Arvidsson and his cap hit on Thursday, Blake put forwards Blake Lizotte and Carl Grundstrom on LTIR, each with a lower-body injury.
Lizotte was essentially transferred from standard injured reserve, as the center hasn’t played since getting injured during a Jan. 15 game at Carolina. Grundstrom was hurt on Tuesday, five shifts into L.A.’s 7-0 loss at Buffalo. The winger has eight goals and four assists in 50 games this season.
Between Lizotte and Grundstrom, the Kings can stash $2.975 million on LTIR. They’re also getting another $1.5 million of cap relief with goaltender Pheonix Copley already thereafter he suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury.
Kings interim coach Jim Hiller told the Kings’ website what Arvidsson brings to the table.
“He brings great energy, and to me, through this whole tough stretch, he’s the exact player we were probably missing,” Hiller said. “He’s a scorer, he doesn’t take no for an answer, he just goes. He’s a player that goes to the net. So, we’ll welcome him back.”
Arvidsson gives the Kings another much-needed scoring winger who has also been missed on their power play. The Kings have lamented his absence all season on the power play, as his shot and passing ability off his right hand were crucial parts of them having the fourth-ranked unit in the NHL last season. This year, it has slipped to 15th.
This season is the final one for Arvidsson under a seven-year contract he signed with Nashville. He has 46 goals and 108 points in 143 games since his trade to Los Angeles in the summer of 2021.
(Photo of Viktor Arvidsson: Dave Sandford / NHLI via Getty Images)
