Nashville Predators: Viktor Arvidsson Is On The Best Contract In The NHL

When looking at some of the best contracts in the NHL, there is a name that stands out amongst all of them, and that is Viktor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators.

On a $4.25 million contract running until the 2023-24 season, Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile had locked up Viktor Arvidsson to possibly the most team-friendly contract in the NHL.

Recently, Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic wrote an article about the ten best contracts in the NHL and I noticed there was a name missing from that list. That name was Viktor Arvidsson.

While I’m not here to criticize Dom, let’s just take a look at some names that were listed under the Honorable Mentions for example.

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Names like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid were on there, which doesn’t make sense to me because although they are two of the best players in the league, they’re making about $7-8 million more than Arvidsson, and Arvidsson definitely isn’t a slouch.

Also included in that list, at the number six spot was Timo Meier, who is making $1.75 million more than Arvidsson and has arguably put up worse career numbers than Arvy so far.

Speaking of numbers, let’s get into Viktor Arvidsson’s case of being appreciated as one of the best contracts in the NHL.

Arvidsson is coming off of possibly one of the greatest seasons in Nashville Predators history, breaking the franchise’s single-season goals record with 34 goals, which is four more than the aforementioned Meier scored this season, while only playing 58 games this season.

This was his third straight near 30 goal campaign for the Nashville Predators, as he scored 29 in 2017-18 and 31 in 2016-17.

If it wasn’t for his rookie season, Arvidsson would be a near point per game player. Since his second full season in the NHL, Arvidsson has accumulated 94 goals and 170 points in 222 games.

Since his second season, Arvidsson ranks 19th in the entire league in goals, with names like Artemi Panarin, who just got paid almost three times as much as Arvidsson makes this offseason, and Joe Pavelski, who also just signed a $7 million dollar deal with the Dallas Stars this offseason.

He also isn’t too far behind both Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, who are also making outrageous amounts of money, yet were considered to be under better contracts than Viktor Arvidsson.

While teams are paying a premium to acquire goal scorers, Arvidsson’s $4.25 million cap hit has allowed the Nashville Predators to add more talent to the roster, including the acquisitions of Kyle Turris, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Duchene during the years of his contract.

The Nashville Predators now have one of the best rosters in the entire league and Viktor Arvidsson’s contract is a huge reason why that was able to happen.

David Poile is an absolute genius for locking up Arvidsson to a seven-year deal with that low of a cap hit right after his 31 goal season in 2016-17 because most young players who have produced at that rate such as Patrick Laine and Brayden Point are looking at upwards of $10 million this offseason.

Arvidsson is now under contract for the majority of his prime at that cheap of a price, as his $4.25 million contract is up after 2023-24, when he will be 30 years old, which will be more than enough time for David Poile to build a championship winning team.

Many people underrate Viktor Arvidsson, but if he keeps producing at the rate he has been under that contract, it could easily be the most dangerous contract in the entire NHL. After all, 30 goal scorers don’t come cheap.