Rangers reportedly eyeing free-agent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov
There’s been some buzz over the last week surrounding the New York Rangers, with a number of reports saying they could be among the teams looking to reshape their roster heading into 2025-26 after a massive letdown this season. General Manager Chris Drury will certainly be looking to add talent, and the most likely launch point is the start of free agency on July 1.
One name to keep an eye on is Vladislav Gavrikov. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman made a name for himself this season with the Los Angeles Kings and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in three weeks. Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that the Rangers may be interested in Gavrikov and could be looking to shake up their roster after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Gavrikov is a big left-handed defenseman who has established himself as someone who can play top-four or even top-pair minutes. Drury shipped out Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7, but the Rangers have yet to find the perfect partner for Adam Fox on the top defense pair. Gavrikov may just fit the bill.
The 29-year-old is not known for his offensive prowess, but he did put up 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) this season with the Kings, three short of his career high. Where the 29-year-old did impress was in plus-minus — he finished plus-26, far surpassing his previous career best of plus-12, set in 2022-23.
Gavrikov also averaged a career-high 23:05 of ice time, led the Kings with 140 blocked shots and took just 28 penalty minutes. Although some of Gavrikov’s success was likely a byproduct of the Kings’ tight-checking, defense-first system, it’s likely he would be a good fit under new Rangers coach Mike Sullivan and his staff as well.
Related: Rangers ‘team to keep an eye on the next few weeks’ as offseason heats up: NHL insider
Rangers need to free up cap space, identify ‘untouchables’
In order to make this happen, Drury would have to free up some cap space. Gavrikov’s cap hit came in at $5.875 million last season, and he’ll likely be looking for a raise after the year he just had with the Kings.
The Rangers have roughly $8.4 million in cap space for next season, according to PuckPedia, and they still need to make decisions on signing restricted free agents Will Cuylle (likely the top priority), Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom, K’Andre Miller, and Zac Jones. If Drury really wants to reshape the roster for next season, he’ll have to let some of those players walk or find ways to create cap room before free agency begins.
According to Staple, the only untouchables on New York’s roster are Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, and Adam Fox. But what does that mean for everyone else?
Rumors have swirled since the season ended in April regarding the status of forward Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger, and his longtime running mate Mika Zibanejad. Though Zibanejad has a full no-move clause and has expressed his desire to stay, Drury has worked around that situation before and surely would be willing to do it again. Kreider, who’s 34 and has a 15-team no-trade clause, had just 22 goals and 30 points this season. He also missed 14 games and said on breakup day that he might need offseason hand surgery.
A more likely option is to move restricted free agent defenseman K’Andre Miller. He’s still young (25) with lots of potential. However, each year Miller seems primed to explode into a top-pair defenseman, but it doesn’t pan out that way. He’s also an RFA who will be looking for a raise from a contract that carried an average annual value of $3,872 million. The Rangers may want to move on from him while they can still get a decent return, and it seems like that time might be now.
Reports have come out that the Rangers are open to moving Miller, and would rather take that route than give him an extension. They do not want to let him walk for nothing, as he would bring in a good return at this point in his career given his skill and potential. This could open the door to bring in someone like Gavrikov, who could be a much better fit.
It seems like more change is on the horizon in New York. Now that the coaching staff is set for 2025-26, changes to the roster are sure to follow.
