The story with the Detroit Red Wings remains what the future of Dylan Larkin is with the team, and what any kind of trade return will look like. Until that bridge is crossed, there are still roster spots that need filling, and Pierre LeBrun reported that the Wings signed winger Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year deal with a $5M average annual value. Arvidsson had a big rebound year with 25 goals and 54 points in 69 games for the Boston Bruins. He now gets a chance to build off that in Detroit.

What Detroit Gets

Any fantasy manager who has been around for more than a couple years knows what Arvidsson is at this point: a shooter. He loves to rip the puck, and when I wrote about him a couple weeks ago, it was blindingly obvious he loves the counterattack and is very good at getting scoring chances.

The primary issue is that Arvidsson's 69 games played last season was represented the fifth time in the last six full 82-game seasons he has failed to reach 70 games. Even if we exclude his 2023-24 campaign where he made just 18 appearances, he has averaged 67 games played per year. We cannot expect him to play much more than 80% of the season, and that makes him an unreliable fantasy asset.

It is not all bad news, though. As things stand, Patrick Kane is an unrestricted free agent. Even if Larkin stays, in addition to Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat, there is still room for one more forward on Detroit's top PP unit. They might not want a pure shooter, but there is at least a chance that Arvidsson cracks the top PP forwards. It has been a few years since that was the case, and could help soften the decline in some on-ice shooting percentages that are sure to decline.

The other bit of good news is the Red Wings don't often play Raymond and DeBrincat together. Last season, those two were on the ice together for roughly 13-14% of their 5-on-5 ice time, per Natural Stat Trick. Regardless of what happens with Larkin, Arvidsson should get a talented winger to skate with, and that is virtually assured if Kane does not return.

In all, it's not hard to see Arvidsson maintaining, or even increasing his fantasy value: Larkin stays, Arvidsson skates in the top-6 with either DeBrincat or Raymond lined up across from him, and he gets a real shot on the top power-play unit. That last part will be key, and we won't really know that answer until training camp at the earliest.

This signing does give the team some security for younger guys like Emmitt Finnie, Nate Danielson, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. They will have a chance at playing top-6 minutes, but none should be forced to stay there all season due to a lack of options. That takes off some pressure in real life, but also lowers their fantasy outlook a little bit.

Who This Helps

Andrew Copp

Viktor Arvidsson

Who This Hurts

Emmitt Finnie

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Nate Danielson