The forward did not play against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round after aggravating the injury in practice prior to the start of the series. The Kings were eliminated after losing 2-0 in Game 7 in Edmonton on Saturday.
"It flared up five minutes into practice before the very first game. So, remember, he came out and did a couple laps. Just twisted the wrong way, and so it's a herniated disk," Blake said. "Tried to treat it, tried to come back. We decided as a group with the medical side a couple days ago that was gonna go for surgery regardless of how Game 7 played out."
Arvidsson is looking at a three-to-five month recovery following the microdiscectomy and should be able to participate in training camp, Blake said.
Arvidsson, 29, was acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on July 7 for a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He had 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 66 games in his first season with the Kings, forming a breakout line with free-agent signing Phillip Danault at center and fourth-year forward Trevor Moore.
Arvidsson played his first seven seasons with the Predators and had 239 points (127 goals, 112 assists) in 385 games. He has two seasons remaining on a seven-year, $29.75 million contract, with an average annual value of $4.25 million, that Arvidsson signed with Nashville as a restricted free agent in July 2017.
The absence of Arvidsson was the last of multiple notable injuries that hindered the Kings throughout the season. Defenseman Drew Doughty had season-ending wrist surgery on April 11 after sustaining the injury against the Boston Bruins on March 7, and defenseman Sean Walker tore his ACL and MCL against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 25.
Doughty said he likely would have been able to return if the Kings had advanced to the Western Conference Final.
"I think we were gonna rush it back," Doughty said. "Maybe conference finals. And I told them, I'm like, 'Even if we make the (Stanley Cup) finals, like, I'm gonna play.'"
Walker is on schedule in his recovery and will be ready for the start of training camp, Blake said.
Bringing in Arvidsson and Danault, who signed a six-year, $33 million contract in July, were the kind of big-ticket additions Doughty had pushed for following the 2021 season, and they helped propel the Kings to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18. Los Angeles went 44-27-11 and finished third in the Pacific Division.
Doughty believes another strong offseason can push the Kings back into Cup contention.
"I think it's possible," Doughty said. "It's not gonna be like Colorado or something. But I think it's possible. I mean, we almost beat Edmonton with missing two of our top four 'D' and one of our top three forwards. Went to Game 7. I mean, I think we're in there."
