Free Agency Frenzy: Vladislav Gavrikov
A plug-and-play security blanket
Staring down a skyrocketing salary cap, this summer’s free-agency class took contract years up a notch. Mitch Marner produced the first 100-point campaign of his career. Two-time Stanley Cup winner Sam Bennett scored 15 playoff goals on the road to a Conn Smythe Trophy.
Vladislav Gavrikov presents a trickier case. The veteran blueliner was also outstanding for the Kings in 2024-25, pushing his stinginess and versatility to new levels, yet the nature of his role isn’t synonymous with hefty price tags. Even with the league’s rising ceiling, many general managers will balk at ~$7 million AAV for a defense-centric 29-year-old.
Here’s why he might be worth the big ticket.
In-Zone Defense
Gavrikov isn’t a prototypical modern defender:
He’s a heavy-footed and occasionally awkward skater. Thankfully, his hockey IQ and well-honed fundamentals keep him far from Aaron Ekblad territory. Unlike his UFA cohort, he’s the lynch pin on his pairing. Not the loose cannon.
Combine that reliability with a sturdy build (6’3”, 220 lbs), and some squad is about to sign a vital piece of its puzzle.
Simply put, he’s a do-it-all rock in the DZ. Crisp stick work, pesky off-puck coverage, stubborn net-front play and when the situation calls for it, he’ll lay his body on the line (LAK 84):
This video package shows off the breadth of his defensive arsenal, but the trait that shines brightest is his play recognition. In 1-on-1 engagements, he excels at reading forwards’ eyes and crowding their release point. His fast processor more than offsets his sluggish feet.
Watch how often he manages to disrupt New Jersey’s PP in the clip below:
Forced high on the PK, the defenseman holds his line and waits for Jack Hughes (NJ 86) to lay his intentions bare. The moment the Devils center loads his forehand, Gavrikov adjusts his grip to deflect the goal-line pass.
After Mikey Anderson (LAK 44) bats the puck to safety, his partner barrels into the corner to disrupt Hughes’ pickup enough for Phillip Danault (LAK 24) to sandwich the puck-carrier. Nowhere to run. Gavrikov then swats another loose biscuit away from Nico Hischier (NJ 13), pressures Hughes on the wall again, Anderson harries New Jersey’s captain and the Kings recover.
Although this isn’t the sexiest shift, it offers a taste of his bull-in-a-china-shop range and sharp anticipation. The Devils let him get close, and he threw three wrenches into their plans.
He’s equally unyielding on home plate:
Look at the check attachment in the first clip. He has such a bead on Aliaksei Protas’ (WSH 21) net-front route that the Belarusian believes a spin move is his lone path to daylight. Gavrikov plants his left leg ahead of his counterpart, digs under his hips and uses his lower body to usher the 6’6”, 247-pound forward away from the incoming point shot.
In the second clip, he identifies Corey Perry (EDM 90) as his assignment and shoves him from the crease to the edge of the trapezoid, giving Darcy Kuemper (LAK 35) a clear sight line and Warren Foegele a chance to lunge into the picture.
He isn’t a bruiser, but when he adopts a low and wide posture, he boasts serious grown-man strength.
The benefits of Gavrikov’s frame carry over to stickier circumstances as well:
As outdated as the maneuver may be considered, when deployed at the right time, a belly-down dive can represent your best hope of clogging multiple options at once. That’s truer still when you stand—or sprawl, I guess—6’3”.
By finding the correct depth to negate the pass while sliding fully extended toward the puck-carrier, he has a knack for killing two birds with one stone.
However, he isn’t quick to pull this particular trigger. He’s become a more patient defender in his stint with the Kings, seldom allowing opponents to turn good touches into Grade A ones through his own eagerness. Rather than pressing the issue ASAP, he waits until the point of attack materializes before activating his trump card:
In space, his priorities are the inside track and puck exposure. He closes in deliberately, applying slow and steady pressure in a balanced posture. In essence, he denies the guts of the ice and dares forwards to blink first. If they decide to try their luck inside, which invariably means dangling within his reach, he leverages his wingspan to dispossess them.
Tighter to the cage, time becomes the offense’s enemy. You’re bound to run out of it eventually. Gavrikov has this advantage seared into his brain, refusing to jump the gun and concede a high-danger bid as a result.
In the clips vs. the Caps, you won’t find him knee-deep in the pile. They want him to commit to the battle, but he’s focused on the war. He’s the last line of defense and acts accordingly (i.e. the play stays in front of him), hedging between close-range targets and pouncing at the first sign of visibility. Poise is the word.
Gavrikov’s ability to intervene in every area of the DZ translated to the fourth-lowest expected and actual goals-against rate among blueliners last season:
Phenomenal numbers. Moreover, the LHD posted them while logging plenty of shutdown minutes on the right side during Drew Doughty’s absence. That kind of flexibility should entice GMs across the league.
Granted, his first round vs. Edmonton wasn’t pretty, but he spent the bulk of his 5-on-5 minutes alongside Jordan Spence or Joel Edmundson in a system that’s tailor-made for the Oilers to exploit. No one other than Florida has managed to contain McDrai anyway. Seems unfair to hold that against him.
Assuming Gavrikov walks—and thus avoids L.A.’s annual Round 1 nightmare—a few intriguing scenarios come to mind:
Buffalo remains busy by trading Bowen Byram for a middle-six forward to replace some of JJ Peterka’s offense and signing Gavrikov, rolling with a top four of Dahlin-Gavrikov and Power-Kesselring. The playoffs suddenly don’t seem like a total fantasy.
The Rangers have already made a splash behind the bench (Peter Laviolette out, Mike Sullivan in). Imagine they finally supply Adam Fox with a dependable LD too. Those are MASSIVE changes that could propel the Blueshirts back into the postseason.
Jason Robertson’s name has been floating around the rumor mill. A deal would feel much more palatable if Dallas could allocate that cap hit to securing Gavrikov. The handedness isn’t ideal, but some combination of Heiskanen, Harley, Gavrikov and Lindell addresses a glaring weakness (RD) and introduces an alternative path to victory for a bona fide contender.
Hell, insert him next to Moritz Seider, Thomas Chabot, Dougie Hamilton or an up-and-comer like Alexander Nikishin, and I doubt they’d have any complaints either. If you’re looking to fortify your back end, Gavrikov is your guy this summer.
Gap Control
Let’s double back on the Kings’ NZ scheme. While Jim Hiller’s 1-2-2 introduced more pace than Todd McLellan’s uber-passive, boo-worthy 1-3-1 last season, defenders weren’t tasked with putting the squeeze on puck-carriers early in transition. That responsibility fell on the shoulders of L.A.’s forward corps.
As such, there isn’t a ton of “Gavrikov gapping up” footage. But in the rare instances where instinct beat out structure, he appeared to flash the tools and toolbox needed to kill offense in a hurry:
Perched in his backskate, he deploys his reach to play long from a neutral stance (toes pointed north). His quiet feet and calm demeanor don’t tender forwards any grain to cut against, twisting their arm into the initial volley. He clearly trusts his length as well as his reads in these settings.
Consider the following sequence:
Hoping to facilitate a line change and maintain possession, Mark Stone (VGK 61) lugs the puck straight at Gavrikov in an attempt to coax a reaction (e.g. back off or drift too far toward the boards).
Watch the D-man’s skates. His depth limit is cemented on the red line, his chest is square to Stone’s and he knows the Golden Knights winger is stuck in L.A.’s funnel (LAK 55, 9 and 84). No guesswork. No wasted motion. No passage. Poke check —> the Kings counter as Vegas scrambles to regain its bearings.
Despite his average mobility, his timing enables him to surf and angle you off too:
Gavrikov skates forward as he tracks Leon Draisaitl (EDM 29) by the near-side dot lane, slicing the rink in half. He dips for max range to ensure puck contact and follows up with a shoulder-to-shoulder ride that staples both the German and Perry to the wall. This is some aggro Minnesota Wild stuff.
He may not have attacked forwards this promptly on a regular basis, yet there’s reason to believe he can do so in a bolder system. This additional side of his versatility should further magnify his market value.
Unlike with, say, Seth Jones, scheme fit isn’t paramount. He’s able to defend at a high caliber in any which manner—and from any side—you desire.
Plug and play.
Matt Roy, who’s of a similar age and mold, inked a six-year deal worth $5.75M AAV last summer. Adjusting for the cap increase from $88M to $95.5M in 2025-26, that amounts to ~$6.25M.
And Gavrikov is better than his former partner. Although traditionalists will scoff at the idea of a defensive defenseman raking in $7M AAV, this is the world we’re living in. Someone will back up the Brink’s truck for his services. Teams aiming to upgrade their blue line would be wise to join the bidding war.