'Everyone wants to be there': Hockey world picks Edmonton Oilers as 'winner' of NHL free agency

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Edmonton Hockey CEO Jeff Jackson is the star of Edmonton Oilers fans for his work as interim GM on July 1, but he's also drawing praise from across the National Hockey League.

In any case, the Oilers are consistently listed as winners, at least in publications that waited until later in the day on July 1 (the Oilers signed Jeff Skinner, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique later in the day) to announce the winners and losers of the first day of free agency.

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Here are some highlights:

NHL commentator John Shannon on Oilers Now:
It’s hard to think that the Edmonton Oilers are going to get fast, but they will get faster. Everything that happened was of a quality that makes perfect sense. That they kept everyone together so well was probably the biggest surprise.

Spittin Chiclets podcast, commentator and Oilers alumnus Ryan Whitney:
Arvidssons has always been an in-your-face waterbug who can score. I love that new signing Connor Brown had a bad regular season, he was fucking great 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 a little guy, they're going to play with you when you play with Leon and Connor. Man, it's a different game Jeff Skinner is going to play most games without a
playoff game straight to a Stanley Cup
I'm really overjoyed right now. I thought it was a great day after a tough Game 7 loss. Everybody wants to be there. Nobody wants to go anywhere. They want to be part of the greatest comeback story, like the Panthers did, losing in the Finals and making it happen

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The Athletics House 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 value, there were few better deals today than Viktor Arvidsson to the Oilers. One of the biggest missing pieces in Edmonton’s playoff run was a legitimate top-six forward to play with Leon Draisaitl, someone who can run the game at five-on-five. Arvidsson is just that, a shoot-first winger who doesn’t need power play time to deliver above-average value.
The fit is great on its own, but it helps that the price and term are both fair, too. A $4 million cap hit is below his fair value, and two years is perfect given the team’s other contract considerations coming up. Arvidsson does come with some injury risk, but he’s worth the reward.

USA TODAY Hockey Writer Mike Brehm had the Oilers as one of his winners:
The Oilers’ effective third line was available for 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 a budget. They lost Warren Foegele, but added secondary scoring in Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

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The Athletics Thomas Drance @ThomasDrance
The Edmonton Oilers forward group looks set to get mean. After Edmontons’ moves today, the Stanley Cup futures market has been adjusted to price them as favorites at +850. And that’s exactly right.

The Scores hockey writer Josh Wegman:
In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Leon Draisaitl found himself in the middle of the second line between Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele, far from the ideal top-six wingers (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, $4M AAV) and Jeff Skinner (one year, $3M AAV) to ultra-team-friendly, low-risk deals.
Skinner, 32, has six 30-goal seasons under his belt. He’s still a legitimate top-six winger, even if he has some defensive shortcomings. Arvidsson, 31, missed most of 2023-24 while recovering from offseason back surgery, but he didn’t miss a beat upon his return, posting 15 points in 18 games. He’s a quick, nasty winger with two 30-goal seasons under his belt. He’s also a good friend of Mattias Ekholm. The Oilers didn’t have much to spend this offseason, but they’ve undoubtedly improved significantly and haven’t mortgaged the future to do so.

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Former NHL player and Live-in-Five podcaster Jordan Schmaltz:
I think the Oilers made a smart move yesterday by acquiring the 32 year old former Buffalo Sabre who grew up figure skating on the frozen ponds of southern Ontario. Jeff Skinner, in a complementary role, still has a lot to offer. Middle 6 + PP2 who can add scoring power while playing with a chip on his shoulder after being bought out. If he can give Edmonton 20-25 weird tucks, this is a great addition. One of those guys who truly loves the game, you can't teach passion, folks.

My opinion

1. I suspect the Oilers would have been on every list if more writers had waited until late July to make their picks, but many closed the list around 5pm Eastern Time.

2. I will also suggest that much of what Edmonton did was subtle. They didn’t sign super big names like Nashville paid big money for Steve Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault or Boston signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Instead, Edmonton signed a large number of good players and kept them on excellent value contracts. Almost every signing could have gotten more money and/or a longer term in another city, but they took the Stanley Cup Discount to sign in Edmonton for a chance to win hockey’s most prestigious club team trophy. Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique, Connor Brown, and Mattias Janmark look like they could have signed for more in other cities, but they chose Edmonton to chase their Stanley Cup dreams.

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At the Cult of Hockey

STAPLES: Cody Ceci or Ryan McLeod heading out the door for Edmonton Oilers? NHL insider delves into Oils free agent haul

STAPLES: Jeff Jackson is in full form: Edmonton Oilers fans excited about July 1 transfers

McCURDY: Oilers sign Henrique

McCURDY: Top 6 RW Viktor Arvidsson signs with Edmonton

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

LEAVINS: Oilers bring back super bug 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 pivot prospect Noah Philp after one-year absence

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