The New York Rangers signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year contract as free agency opened on Tuesday.
Gavrikov is turning 30 years old in November, and his contract carries a $7 million cap hit. This past season, Gavrikov managed 30 points while playing 23 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Kings. The deal comes with a no-movement clause for the first five years, before becoming a partial no-trade clause for the final two years.
Below is an analysis of how the contract looks for the Rangers.
Vladislav Gavrikov can help to stabilize the Rangers’ blue line
After joining the Kings ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, Gavrikov did wonders to help solidify the team’s defense group. He emerged as the team’s most reliable defenseman and one of the better shutdown defenders in the league.
Gavrikov, along with Mikey Anderson, also took on by far the toughest matchups of any defenders on the Kings, per the Frozen Tools’ player usage chart.
Heading to New York, Gavrikov should be able to make a big impact right away. The Rangers struggled with poor defense at times last season resulting in quite a bit of turnover within their blue line. The Rangers sent Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks midway through the season, while they traded Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche.
Then this week, the Rangers dealt K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes. Zac Jones also did not receive a qualifying offer and signed with the Buffalo Sabres. As a result, the Rangers’ blue line looks a lot different than it did to start to the 2024-25 season.
There’s a good chance Gavrikov plays alongside Adam Fox to start the season. Fox had great results in previous years alongside Lindgren, and Gavrikov is a step up. While the Rangers could still end up relying a lot on their top pairing, adding Gavrikov immediately leaves the team’s blue line looking better.
Seven-year term was expected for Vladislav Gavrikov
Gavrikov signing a maximum-term extension in free agency was not a surprise. While he could’ve extended for eight years in Los Angeles, as soon as July 1 hit, it was a given that he’d get a seven-year deal regardless of what team he signed with.
Of course, given Gavrikov’s age, the odds of a decline later in the deal are high. He’ll be 37 years old by the time the contract expires in 2032, and it’s far from certain that he’ll still be a top-tier defender as he gets into his mid-30s.
At the same time, if the Rangers weren’t going to offer seven years, other teams certainly would have. Especially in a pretty thin market, Gavrikov was one of the top defenders available. As a result, a seven-year deal still represents a fair term for Gavrikov.
Vladislav Gavrikov’s cap hit comes in slightly lower than expected
Gavrikov’s $7 million cap hit was one of the bigger deals signed in free agency. At the same time, it actually comes in a little cheaper than projected. I had previously projected Gavrikov’s cap hit for a seven-year deal to come in at $7.5 million at HockeyComparables.com.
Gavrikov’s cap hit also looks great when compared to what Ivan Provorov signed for. He extended with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a seven-year deal, which carries an $8.5 million cap hit. While Provorov may be able to produce at a slightly higher rate, Gavrikov is still more reliable defensively.
We can also expect there were probably bigger offers available to Gavrikov outside of New York. As a result, Gavrikov’s $7 million cap hit ends up looking quite reasonable for the Rangers.
Vladislav Gavrikov’s contract comes with trade protection
One thing that brings a bit of concern with the contract is the trade protection. With Gavrikov having a full no-movement clause for half a decade, the Rangers are fully locked in to the contract until 2030. Even in the last two years, Gavrikov still has a fairly substantial partial no-trade clause, per PuckPedia.com.
As a result, it does leave limited options for the team, if they needed to get out of the contract. Of course, the goal is that Gavrikov can be a key part of the team’s defense group for a long time, and that they’ll have no reason to think about moving him. But if Gavrikov does see a decline at some point, the Rangers may be in a tough position in terms of being able to move the contract.
Vladislav Gavrikov’s contract grade
The Rangers have clearly been focused on reworking their blue line for the better part of the past year. Bringing in Gavrikov immediately helps them to enter the coming season with a much more stable defense group.
The contract also comes in at a slightly lower cap hit than projected, and the seven-year term was expected. Gavrikov’s age along with the trade protection still leave some reason for concern later in the deal, but it’s still a good contract for the Rangers.
Rangers’ grade: A-
From Gavrikov’s perspective, he likely left some money on the table to go to New York, and we can expect that he probably could’ve gotten more than $7 million per year elsewhere. At the same time, this also represents by far his biggest contract yet at a total of $49 million. The term and trade protection also give him quite a bit of security, taking him into his late 30s.
Gavrikov grade: B
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