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Edmonton's chief hockey operations officer, Jeff Jackson, began working as interim GM on July 1 and has earned praise from Edmonton Oilers fans but also across the National Hockey League.
At least in publications that wait until late on July 1 to announce the winners and losers of the first day of free agency (the Oilers signed Jeff Skinner, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique later that day), the Oilers have consistently been listed as winners.
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Here are some highlights:
NHL commentator John Shannon on Oilers Now:
It’s hard to imagine the Edmonton Oilers being fast, but they will be faster… Everything that happened was at a level of quality that made a lot of sense… That was probably the biggest surprise, how everyone stayed together as they did.
Spittin' Chiclets podcast commentator and Oilers alum Ryan Whitney:
Arvidsson was a waterbug type of guy who could always score. I think this deal is great…Connor Brown was bad in the regular season but was awesome in the playoffs. Why doesn't that continue? He's not the rookie on the team. He's comfortable on the team. That's great…Skinner and Arvidsson are small, but when they play with Leon and Connor, they'll play together. Hey, that's another story…Jeff Skinner will play most games without a point.
Directly from the playoff games to the Stanley Cup…
I'm really happy right now. This was a great day, coming back from a tough Game 7 loss. Everybody wants to be there. Nobody wants to go anywhere. They want to be part of a great comeback like the Panthers did, losing in the Finals and coming back to win.
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Dom Ruszczyszyn of The Athletic ranked Arvidsson as one of the best signings of the day, along with Sam Reinhart, Jake Guenzel, Matt Duchene, Sean Walker and Anthony Duclair.
In terms of fit and price, there were few better deals for the Oilers today than Viktor Arvidsson. One of the key pieces missing from Edmonton's playoff run was a bona fide top-six forward who could play with Leon Draisaitl and drive play at 5-on-5. Arvidsson is just that, a shot-oriented winger who doesn't need power-play time and provides above-average value.
The fit is great, but the price and length are both reasonable. The $4 million cap hit is below fair value, and the two-year deal is perfect given other contracts the team will be considering. Arvidsson comes with injury risk, but the rewards are worth it.
USA TODAY hockey reporter Mike Brehm projected the Oilers as one of the favorites to win the championship.
The Oilers' third line was effectively free-agency, and the team re-signed Adam Henrique (two years, $6 million), Mattias Janmark (three years, $4.35 million), and Connor Brown (one year, $1 million) on the cheap. They lost Warren Vogel, but added Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner as a second source of scoring.
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Josh Wegman, hockey reporter for The Score:
In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Leon Draisaitl served as the second-line center between Dylan Holloway and Warren Vogel, but was far from an ideal top-six winger option (Evander Kane was unavailable due to injury).
The Oilers added depth to their forward line with the additions of Viktor Arvidsson (two-year contract, $4 million average per year) and Jeff Skinner (one-year contract, $3 million average per year) on highly lucrative, low-risk contracts for the team.
Skinner, 32, has six 30-plus goal seasons under his belt and, despite some defensive deficiencies, remains a top-six winger.
Arvidsson, 31, missed most of the 2023-24 season recovering from offseason back surgery but didn't miss a beat in his return, scoring 15 points in 18 games. He's a speedy, nasty winger with 30 goals in two seasons. He's also Mattias Ekholm's best friend.
The Oilers didn't have a lot of cash to spend this offseason, but they could undoubtedly improve significantly and not sacrifice their future for it.
Jordan Schmaltz, former NHL player and Live-in-Five podcaster:
I think the Oilers did a little bit of business yesterday acquiring a 32 year old ex-Buffalo Sabres guy who grew up figure skating on frozen ponds in Southern Ontario. Jeff Skinner still has a lot to contribute in a complementary role. Middle 6+PP2 and can add some scoring power while still playing through the frustrations after being bought out. If he can contribute 20-25 innings or so for Edmonton, this is a great acquisition. One of those guys who truly loves the game. Passion can't be taught.
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My take
1. I think if more writers had waited until the end of July 1st to make their predictions, the Oilers would have been on every list, but many people closed their lists around 5pm ET.
2. It can also be said that many of Edmonton's moves were subtle. They didn't acquire super-big names like Nashville, who paid big money for Steve Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, or Boston, who signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Instead, Edmonton acquired and retained many good players on very valuable contracts. Nearly all of the players they signed could have received a higher signing bonus or contract length in another city, but they took advantage of the Stanley Cup discount to sign with Edmonton and get a chance to win hockey's most prestigious club trophy. Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark all appear to have received higher signing bonuses in other cities, but they chose Edmonton to chase their Stanley Cup dreams.
Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: Will Cody Ceci or Ryan McLeod leave the Edmonton Oilers? NHL insider dives into Oil's free agent acquisitions
Staples: 'Jeff Jackson is on a roll': Edmonton Oilers fans excited about July 1 signing
McCurdy: Oilers sign Henrique
McCurdy: Top-six RW Viktor Arvidsson signs with Edmonton
McCurdy: Veteran sniper Jeff Skinner signs one-year deal with Oilers
Levins: Oilers bring back super-man Corey Perry on another contract year
Staples: Oilers acquire big right-hander Josh Brown to replace Desharnais
Levins: Connor Brown signs new one-year contract
STAPLES: The Oilers re-signed pivot candidate Noah Philp after a year out.
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