‘Everybody wants to be there’: Hockey world picks Edmonton Oilers as ‘winner’ of NHL free agency

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Edmonton hockey operations CEO Jeff Jackson is the talk of the town among Edmonton Oilers fans for his work as interim GM on July 1, but he’s also received praise from across the National Hockey League.

At least with publications that waited until later on July 1 (the Oilers signed Jeff Skinner, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique later that same day) to announce the winners and losers of the first day of free agency, the Oilers were consistently listed as the winners.

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Here are some of the highlights:

NHL commentator John Shannon on Oilers Now:
It’s hard to think the Edmonton Oilers are going to get fast, but they will get faster… Everything that’s happened has been at a level of quality that makes a lot of sense… Keeping everyone together as long as they have has probably been the biggest surprise.

Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast, commentator and Oilers alumnus Ryan Whitney:
Arvidsson has always been a guy who likes the water and can score. I love this signing… Connor Brown had a bad regular season, he got screwed so badly in the playoffs. Why wouldn’t that continue? He’s not a new guy on the team. He’s comfortable there, I love that… Skinner and Arvidsson, even though they’re small guys, they’re going to play when you play Leon and Connor. Man, it’s a different ballgame… Jeff Skinner is going to get through most games without a
straight playoff game for a Stanley Cup…
I’m really on cloud nine right now. I think this was an incredible day after a tough loss in Game 7. Everybody wants to be there. Nobody wants to go anywhere. They want to be part of the biggest comeback story, the way the Panthers did, losing in the Finals and going to make it happen.

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The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn ranked Arvidsson as one of the best signings of the day, along with Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel, Matt Duchene, Sean Walker and Anthony Duclair:
In terms of fit and price, there were few better deals today than Viktor Arvidsson for the Oilers. One of the key missing pieces in Edmonton’s playoff push was a legitimate top-six forward to play with Leon Draisaitl, someone who can drive the game at five-on-five. Arvidsson is exactly that, a shooter-first winger who doesn’t need power-play time to deliver above-average value.
The fit alone is great, but it helps that the price and term are reasonable, too. A $4 million hit to the salary cap falls short of his fair value, and two years is perfect given the team’s other contract considerations that are looming. Arvidsson comes with some injury risk, but he’s worth the reward.

USA TODAY hockey writer Mike Brehm said the Oilers were one of the winners:
The Oilers’ effective third line was ready for free agency, and the team managed to re-sign Adam Henrique (two years, $6 million), Mattias Janmark (three years, $4.35 million), and Connor Brown (one year, $1 million) for cheap. They lost Warren Foegele, but added secondary scoring with Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

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Thomas Drance of The Athletic @ThomasDrance
The Edmonton Oilers forward group is shaping up to be nasty. After Edmonton’s moves today, the “to win the Stanley Cup” futures market has adjusted to price them as the favorite at +850. And that’s absolutely right.

The Score’s hockey writer Josh Wegman:
In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Leon Draisaitl found himself centering the second line between Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele — far from ideal top-six wing options (Evander Kane was notably out of the lineup due to injury).
The Oilers now have a wealth of forward depth after signing Viktor Arvidsson (two years, $4 million AAV) and Jeff Skinner (one year, $3 million AAV) to low-risk, extremely team-friendly deals.
Skinner, 32, has six 30-goal seasons under his belt. He’s still a legitimate top-six winger, even if he comes with some defensive shortcomings.
Arvidsson, 31, missed most of 2023-24 while recovering from offseason back surgery but hasn’t missed a beat in his return, tallying 15 points in 18 games. He’s a quick, irritating winger with two 30-goal seasons under his belt. He’s also a close friend of Mattias Ekholm.
The Oilers didn’t have a lot to spend this offseason, but they certainly improved substantially and didn’t mortgage their future to do so.

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Former NHL player and Live-in-Five podcaster Jordan Schmaltz:
I think the Oilers made a sneaky trade yesterday, acquiring the 32-year-old former Buffalo Sabre who grew up skating on the frozen ponds of southern Ontario. Jeff Skinner, in a complementary role, still has a lot to give. Middle 6+PP2 who can add scoring while playing with a chip on his shoulder after being bought out. If he can give Edmonton 20-25 odd tucks, this is a great pick. One of those guys who really loves the game – you can’t teach passionate people.

My turn

1. I suspect the Oilers would be on every list if more writers had waited until late July 1 to make their picks, but many wrapped up their picks around 5 p.m. ET.

2. I will also suggest that much of what Edmonton did was subtle. They didn’t bring in big names like Nashville paid big money for Steve Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault or Boston signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Instead, Edmonton brought in and retained a number of good players on excellent value contracts. Almost all of their signings could have gotten more dollars and/or more time in another city, but they took advantage of the Stanley Cup discount to sign in Edmonton and have a shot at hockey’s most prestigious club team trophy. Each of Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark looks like they could have signed for more in other cities, but they chose Edmonton to pursue their Stanley Cup dreams.

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In the Cult of Hockey

STAPLES: Are Cody Ceci or Ryan McLeod out of the Edmonton Oilers? NHL insider investigates Oil’s free agent acquisition

STAPLES: ‘Jeff Jackson is on fire’: Edmonton Oilers fans thrilled with July 1 signings

McCURDY: Oilers sign Henrique

McCURDY: Top 6 RW Viktor Arvidsson signs with Edmonton

McCURDY: Veteran sharpshooter Jeff Skinner signs one-year deal with Oilers

LEAVINS: Oilers bring back super-pest Corey Perry for another year

STAPLES: Oilers add big RHD Josh Brown to replace departing Desharnais

LEAVINS: Connor Brown signs new one-year contract

STAPLES: Oilers re-sign promising center Noah Philp after a year away from the game

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