By signing a seven-year, $49 million contract with the New York Rangers last summer, Vladislav Gavrikov put his faith in the team rebounding from a disappointing 2024-25 season and contending for a playoff spot once again. Instead, New York is in last place in the Eastern Conference, even after collecting points in six of seven games since the Olympic break.
“Well, obviously, before the season we were talking about being in the playoffs and fighting for the Cup,” Gavrikov told The Athletic recently when asked if the direction of the team has been different than what he expected. “Obviously, yeah.”
Gavrikov’s play has not been part of the Rangers’ on-ice disappointment. He’s filled the role that president Chris Drury paid him for, playing strong defense in a top-pair role. The 30-year-old has averaged a career-high 23:56 of ice time a game, all while chipping in more offense than New York envisioned. Aided by a career-best shooting percentage (12.5 percent), he has 12 goals, tied for 10th in the league for goals by a defenseman and twice as many as his previous season high. He has 27 points total, on pace to pass his 2021-22 career-best of 33.
That hasn’t meant Gavrikov’s move from the Los Angeles Kings to New York has been an easy transition, considering the team’s performance. In January, Drury sent a letter to fans announcing a retool. Discussing his reaction to the decision, Gavrikov said, “You want to fight for the playoffs and try to win the Cup.”
“Every single time you’re going into the season that’s the goal,” he said. “So as I mentioned before, right now my approach is just to go and win every single game. Try to enjoy playing hockey.”
The month after the letter, Drury traded star winger Artemi Panarin to the Kings. Gavrikov was friends with Panarin and had experience playing with him at the 2017 World Championships and in 2019 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This past summer, Panarin answered Gavrikov’s questions about the Rangers before the defenseman made his free-agency decision and called him “maybe 10 times a day” in the lead-up to his signing, Gavrikov said earlier this season. Before Gavrikov bought a house in New York, he and his family lived with the Panarin family in Connecticut. Now Panarin is playing on Gavrikov’s former team: a development it’s safe to assume the defenseman didn’t anticipate when joining the Rangers.
In January, Gavrikov declined to discuss his emotions on the Rangers holding Panarin out for roster management, saying he was focused on getting ready for the next game.
New York signed Gavrikov, envisioning him as a high-level partner for No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox. The two have delivered superb results when on the ice at the same time. The Rangers lead opponents 20-16 at five-on-five when Gavrikov and Fox are together, and they have 59.72 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. That’s the fifth-best mark in the NHL among pairs that have played at least 200 minutes together.
“I think it’s been really good,” Fox said. “Gavi is the type of player I’m used to playing with. He’s so reliable for me defensively. His ability to kill plays, you see it when he’s surfing at the blue (line) or killing a rush.”
Fox, though, has missed 27 games to injury, which both negatively impacted the team’s record and Gavrikov’s underlying numbers. Gavrikov largely played with Braden Schneider during Fox’s absences, and the Rangers have 41.28 percent of the expected goal rate with those two on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Gavrikov is one of five Rangers players with no-movement clauses in their contracts, along with Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Mika Zibanejad and captain J.T. Miller. All will have plenty to consider in conversations with Drury entering this offseason. Fox, for one, said he will “process and digest everything” when the season ends. Given how much they play — and succeed — when on a pair together, whatever happens with Fox could impact Gavrikov’s feelings about his situation going forward.
Because of Gavrikov’s contract and no-movement clause, any potential trade involving him would come with significant hurdles. Notably, Drury stressed that he’s not entering a rebuild, so it’s hard to see him wanting to trade one of his best defenders. Secondly, he’d have to both get a desirable return from a team for which Gavrikov would be willing to waive his trade protection. Making both those things happen could be hard, if not impossible.
Considering all those factors, the likely outcome is that Gavrikov returns to the Rangers next season, just as everyone would have expected after he signed his seven-year contract. But given Drury’s letter, the team’s record and the fact that further changes are looming, there are few guarantees on the roster.