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Vladislav Gavrikov

Pacific Notes: Gavrikov, Kaliyev, Lavoie, Rooney

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The Los Angeles Kings already lost one underappreciated shutdown defenseman this summer in Matt Roy and they may be in danger of losing another. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports the team is taking a ’wait-and-see’ approach with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and extension negotiations haven’t started.

Gavrikov has been exactly as advertised for the Kings since the organization acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022-23 season. He’s a regular shot blocker and has maintained solid defensive play despite starting 58.4% of his shifts in the defensive zone throughout his time in Los Angeles. Gavrikov signed a short two-year, $11.75MM extension with the Kings in 2023 hoping to earn a higher AAV in his age-30 season with the salary cap rising.

The good news for Los Angeles is that Gavrikov is the only meaningful free agent needing a new contract on the roster. Alex Laferriere and Arthur Kaliyev are set to hit restricted free agency next offseason but neither should eat into Gavrikov’s potential earnings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Speaking of Kaliyev, the former top prospect isn’t expected back on the ice for another six to eight weeks (X Link). Kaliyev broke his collarbone early in training camp and is currently listed on the Kings’ injured reserve. A start in November/December isn’t ideal for Kaliyev as he looks to earn more responsibility in Los Angeles. He’s coming off the worst season of his career scoring seven goals and 15 points in 51 games last year.
  • Now on the waiver wire for the third time this week, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal believes the Edmonton Oilers may look to trade forward prospect Raphael Lavoie. Matheson shares correctly that Lavoie is in no-man land in the Oilers organization being too good for bottom six duties and not good enough to crack the top six. If Lavoie clears waivers tomorrow he will at least get a consistent role with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors but could see his name in an early trade to start the year.
  • Calgary Flames forward Kevin Rooney skated in only 1:03 of last night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after receiving a heavy check from J.T. Miller. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports Rooney is “doing well” but is still considered day-to-day. Calgary’s next game isn’t until Saturday night when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers and Rooney should be a game-time decision for that contest.

West Notes: Gavrikov, Chrona, Girard

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The Los Angeles Kings have announced that defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has been activated off of injured reserve. In addition, defenseman Jacob Moverare has been recalled from the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Gavrikov has not played since December 10th, and had been dealing with a lower-body injury.

Gavrikov has played a top-four role in Los Angeles, averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time per night with a regular penalty-killing role. He’s provided the Kings with decent value on the $5.875MM investment they made in him, and if he keeps it up he’ll be in a strong position to hit free agency at the end of 2024-25. Moverare, 25, has skated in 16 games at the AHL level so far this season and five in the NHL.

Some other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled netminder Magnus Chrona from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. The move was made to give the Sharks an additional goaltender to cover for the fact that regular tandem netminder MacKenzie Blackwood is not feeling well. In a corresponding move, defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on injured reserve, which clears the roster spot to be used on Chrona. Chrona, a former NCAA National Champion at the University of Denver, has a .900 save percentage in 11 games in what has been his rookie pro campaign.
  • Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media today (including Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano) that defenseman Samuel Girard will not play tonight, but also “hinted” that there is a chance he plays Friday against the St. Louis Blues. Girard returned to skating on December 21st, and is working his way back to game readiness after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Kings Place Vladislav Gavrikov On Injured Reserve, Recall David Rittich

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The Los Angeles Kings have officially placed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on injured reserve, and have recalled goaltender David Rittich on an emergency basis. Given that players must be on the injured reserve for a minimum of seven days after placement, the timeline of Gavrikov’s return will not change much, given that it was reported he would be week-to-week.

As one of the more frustrating defenders to line up against in the NHL, the Kings will be hard-pressed to find an internal option to replace Gavrikov in their lineup adequately. Since the team is unwilling to carry more than three right-handed shot defensemen, they will likely fill in the hole with Jacob Moverare and Tobias Bjornfot.

Being the second-highest-paid defenseman on the team, Gavrikov ranks fourth amongst Los Angeles defensemen in average time on ice, scoring three goals and nine points in 25 games. On the defensive side of the puck, Gavrikov is fourth on the team in blocked shots and continues to post above-average possession numbers from the blue line.

In the case of Rittich, it was reported earlier this afternoon that regular backup goaltender Pheonix Copley was helped off the ice toward the end of today’s practice (X Link). Currently, there has been no update as to the status of Copley, although it is likely he will not suit up in the team’s game tomorrow night against the Seattle Kraken.

Although Rittich has operated as a backup goaltender for much of his career, this will be his first callup with the Kings since signing a one-year, $875K contract this past summer. In 16 games played for Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, Rittich holds a 7-6-3 record with a .901 SV% and a 2.63 GAA.

Snapshots: Kuznetsov, Suter, Boudreau, Richards, Clarke

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Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Philadelphia with the team announcing (Twitter link) that it was due to illness.  It has not been a good year for the 31-year-old who has been limited to just five goals and six assists in 22 games while even being a healthy scratch earlier this month.  Kuznetsov has one more year left after this one with a $7.8MM AAV and if Washington looks to shake things up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his name land in the rumor mill again after a trade request came to light over the summer.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Prior to their game tonight versus Florida, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated center Pius Suter from injured reserve. The 27-year-old has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury.  Suter was off to a slow start to his first season with Vancouver as he has been limited to four goals in his first 15 games.  Having sent back Linus Karlsson recently, they didn’t need to make another move to open up a spot for Suter’s activation.
  • It’s possible that we could see Bruce Boudreau back behind a bench in the near future. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that the veteran bench boss is in the mix to coach Canada’s entry into the upcoming Spengler Cup, which gets underway on December 26th.  The 68-year-old is currently an advisor for OHL Niagara.
  • The Blues have added long-time NHL center Brad Richards as a power play consultant, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays in his latest 32 Thoughts column. Richards put up 377 points with the man advantage during his 15-year NHL career, putting him in a tie for 76th in NHL history in that department.  Louis enters play tonight with a power play success rate of just 8.4%, putting them 31st league-wide ahead of only Washington.
  • With Vladislav Gavrikov now out for a little while, some wondered if this could be the opportunity for top prospect Brandt Clarke to be recalled from AHL Ontario. However, Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider notes that promoting him would give them four right-shot defenders and the Kings don’t want to put one of them in a spot of playing on their off-side.  Clarke is off to a very strong start with the Reign, putting up 25 points in his first 24 career AHL appearances.

Vladislav Gavrikov Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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Kings blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov left Sunday’s game against the Rangers with a lower-body injury, just one night after he was on the wrong end of a knee-on-knee collision with Islanders captain Anders Lee. Today, the team announced that Gavrikov will not be in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Jets and is sidelined on a week-to-week basis.

Gavrikov, 28, has blossomed into a solid second-pairing defender since beginning his NHL career in 2019 with the Blue Jackets. A sixth-round pick of Columbus in 2015, Gavrikov played four seasons in his home country of Russia before joining the NHL ranks, including an Olympics appearance in 2018 and multiple World Championship appearances.

He cracked the Blue Jackets out of camp on his first try, going on to record 18 points and a +1 rating while averaging 18:59 per game through 69 contests during his rookie season. The pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign was a tough one for him, recording 12 points and a -13 rating in 55 games, but he broke out as a true top-four threat the following season with five goals, 33 points, and a respectable -3 rating on a Blue Jackets team that finished below the .500 mark while playing over 22 minutes a game.

Amidst a disappointing campaign for Columbus last season, the organization parted ways with Gavrikov near the trade deadline, dealing him to the Kings, along with netminder Joonas Korpisalo, for a package headlined by Los Angeles’ 2023 first-round draft pick. He’s been dynamite in Hollywood since the deal, and he’s posted some of the best possession numbers of any player in the league this season. Through 25 games, Gavrikov is playing nearly 20 minutes per game, has three goals and six assists, and boasts a 57.5% Corsi share at even strength. He also leads the NHL in Hockey Reference’s expected plus-minus metric with a +9.5 rating.

Needless to say, his services will be tough to replace for a Kings team whose .720 points percentage ranks fourth in the NHL and second in the Western Conference. 25-year-old Jacob Moverare, who has been recalled on numerous occasions this season but has yet to see game action with the Kings, will make his 2023-24 debut tonight in place of Gavrikov on their second pairing alongside Matt Roy. Moverare has five assists and a +1 rating through 16 games with AHL Ontario. He’s amassed 21 games of NHL experience with the Kings dating back to 2021, recording two assists and a +2 rating in 16:13 of average ice time.

The Kings do have cap space to make a corresponding recall from Ontario while winger Viktor Arvidsson remains on long-term injured reserve, but their 23-man roster is currently full. Given he’s expected to miss longer than seven days, expect the Kings to move Gavrikov to injured reserve in the near future to accommodate an extra defenseman on the active roster.

Salary Cap Increase Could Be Larger Than Expected

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Joe Smith of The Athletic penned an interesting article today leading to speculation that the NHL salary cap could see a larger increase this summer than the $1MM that was expected. Gary Bettman seemed to temper expectations last week when he said that he still expected the increase to be just the $1MM.

Smith’s league sources say that the number which has been discussed for most of this year doesn’t appear to be final as of right now. The official figure will be announced at the NHL draft and now it appears that there are some negotiations going on behind the scenes to see if there is wiggle room to add to the increase.

Many expect the salary cap to go up between $10MM-$12MM over the next three years based on revenue, leading to a wild disparity for those who become free agents this season versus those who hit the market in 2024 or 2025. The conversation going on behind closed doors appears to be whether the increases could be more proportional starting this year to allow the group of players hitting free agency in a few weeks to have a bit more money in the market to chase.

Any additional cap increase would certainly be welcome news for teams that are currently cap strapped. The Minnesota Wild and Boston Bruins come to mind as both teams stand to lose considerable talent and don’t have much cap room to retain them. The news could also be good for the players that want to stay with their current clubs but aren’t sure the money will be there. An extra one million in cap space could be the difference that allows a player like Alex Killorn to stay with the only team he’s ever known instead of moving on with a new team.

While Smith teases the different possible cap increases over the next three years, he does end the article by stating that the likeliest outcome for next year’s salary cap is a $1MM to $1.5MM increase. This could also affect the contracts that this year’s free agents sign. Players might opt for shorter term deals with the hope that they can cash in down the road when the cap is quite a bit higher. We’ve already seen defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov sign for just two years, despite the Los Angeles Kings pushing for a longer-term arrangement. It could become a major story over the next month or so as more players sign deals for next season.

Los Angeles Kings Extend Vladislav Gavrikov

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The Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension, as per Gavrikov’s agent, Dan Milstein. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the deal carries a $5.875MM cap hit, and will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2025. PuckPedia reports the breakdown of the contract as follows:

2023-24: $775,000 salary, $5.725MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
2024-25: $775,000 salary, $4.475MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause

By signing Gavrikov, the Kings take one of the top pending UFA defenders off the board. They were able to make the transaction work by clearing goalie Cal Petersen’s buried cap hit off the books, dealing him to the Philadelphia Flyers in a complex swap yesterday.

Los Angeles acquired Gavrikov, along with netminder Joonas Korpisalo, from the Columbus Blue Jackets in March in exchange for a first- and second-round pick, as well as goalie Jonathan Quick who was moved in the deal for salary cap purposes. Gavrikov fit right in with the Kings down the stretch, notching nine points in 20 games, averaging over 21 minutes a night, and posting some of the best advanced defensive metrics among Kings defenders post-deadline (and, especially, in their playoff loss against the Edmonton Oilers).

Columbus selected Gavrikov in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft after he was passed over the year prior. It took another four years for Gavrikov to head to North America, signing his entry-level deal near the end of the 2018-19 campaign and making his NHL debut in the playoffs.

It’s been a strong run for Gavrikov since, who developed into Columbus’ top shutdown defender in a short time while developing solid offensive play too. The latter half of that statement was a bit of a surprise – his 33 points in 80 games with Columbus in 2021-22 was his highest total in any documented league dating back to his junior days.

But his two-way acumen was on full display in a Kings uniform, taking on more than just a defensive specialist’s role. If he can keep up his post-March play for the duration of this contract, it’s a solid bit of business by the Kings.

It is a bit of interesting business, given the short-term nature of the deal. Two-year extensions aren’t all that common for high-caliber pending UFAs, to the point where CapFriendly notes not a single highly comparable contract to Gavrikov’s has been signed dating back to 2013.

The deal also allows the Kings to make room on their blueline for their large group of young prospects, many of whom should be ready for larger roles upon Gavrikov’s expiration in 2025.

West Notes: Gavrikov, Predators, Bouchard

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Today’s cap-shedding trade by the Kings has sparked speculation that the move was made to make room for an agreement with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.  That deal isn’t in place and if it does get done, it might be a shorter-term deal than expected.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Gavrikov’s camp has told Los Angeles that they’re looking for a two-year contract.  Considering that Gavrikov is 27 and in his prime, it feels like this is the right time to look for a long-term agreement.  However, the blueliner is coming off a bit of a quiet year and the salary cap is expected to start going up more after next season so Gavrikov could be positioning himself to have a shot at a bigger payday in a couple of years compared to what he could get this summer.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Predators announced that they have reached an affiliation agreement with ECHL Atlanta for next season. It will be the fourth straight season that the Gladiators have a new affiliate after having Boston, Ottawa, and Arizona over the last three years.  Nashville, meanwhile, was one of four NHL teams this season that did not have a direct ECHL affiliation.
  • Gary Bettman’s recent confirmation that the Upper Limit of the salary cap is only set to go up by $1MM isn’t ideal for most teams but Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal argues that it at least gives the Oilers some certainty as it pertains to defenseman Evan Bouchard. The 23-year-old is coming off his second straight season of at least 40 points and was quite productive in the playoffs, notching 17 points in 12 games; he still leads all playoff blueliners in scoring despite being ousted in the second round.  With Edmonton’s cap situation, they’re basically stuck doing a bridge contract with Bouchard, an outcome that’s basically cemented with the recent cap confirmation.

Kings Making Progress On Vladislav Gavrikov Contract

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The Kings made a pair of additions just before the trade deadline this season, picking up goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in a trade with Columbus.  While both players are set to have their current contracts expire at the end of June, it appears at least one of them could stick around beyond that point.  Michael Russo and Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic report (subscription link) that there’s a belief that Los Angeles is closing in on an extension with Gavrikov.

The 27-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, picking up a career-best 33 points in 80 games while topping the century mark in shots on goal, hits, and blocks for the first time.  Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, Gavrikov wasn’t able to maintain that level of production this season, dipping to just three goals and seven helpers in 52 games prior to the trade despite averaging 22:20 per game, slightly over his average from last season.

However, Gavrikov’s performance improved considerably following the swap.  He spent a lot of time on the second pairing and the slightly lesser role seemed to work well for him, at least offensively, as he collected three goals and six helpers in 20 regular season games with Los Angeles.  He logged nearly 22 minutes per night for them in the playoffs in their opening-round exit to Edmonton.

Gavrikov is coming off what could fairly be termed as his bridge contract, even though it’s one that walks him straight to UFA eligibility.  His cap hit over the last three seasons has been $2.8MM while his salary this year was $4.2MM.  It stands to reason that his salary this season could serve as a starting point for negotiations, especially if they’re trying to convince him to forego testing the open market in July.

If the two sides are able to agree on a deal, it could be the beginning of an interesting offseason for Kings blueliners.  With Brandt Clarke likely to be on the roster full-time next season after dominating with OHL Barrie following his reassignment after the World Juniors and Tobias Bjornfot now waiver-eligible, there’s likely to be a bit of a logjam.  There are already five other rearguards signed for next season not including Gavrikov plus promising defenseman Jordan Spence also waiting in the wings after spending most of the year at AHL Ontario.

Cap space is going to be a bit of a premium for Los Angeles next season as they currently have nearly $76MM in commitments for 2023-24, per CapFriendly.  With the Upper Limit likely to be at $83.5MM, spending more than half that money to keep Gavrikov would only tighten things further.  However, if keeping him would allow them to move someone like Sean Walker or Sean Durzi, they’d be able to use the savings from that swap to help subsidize Gavrikov’s new deal.

Both Korpisalo and Gavrikov played big roles for the Kings down the stretch and it’s quite possible that they’re going to take a serious run at keeping both of them around.  But it appears that Gavrikov is their priority and it might not be long now before he puts pen to paper on a new contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Columbus To Receive Los Angeles Kings 2023 First Rounder

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When the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff birth last night it guaranteed that the Columbus Blue Jackets would receive their first-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Columbus originally acquired a conditional first round pick from the Kings at the trade deadline as part of a package for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.

The condition on the traded pick was that if Los Angeles did not qualify for the 2023 playoffs, Columbus would have instead received a 2023 second round pick and a 2024 second round pick. Columbus will likely have the extra pick land somewhere late in the first round, but should be pleased with their slotting in what is expected to be a deep draft.

This trade could ultimately turn out to be a win for both teams. Columbus is trying to rebuild around Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine and the first-round pick should help them fill out the depth around their two offensive stars. Los Angeles on the other hand have emerged from their rebuild as a potential juggernaut in the Western Conference. They still boast a few remaining stars from their two cup winning teams and have done a nice job building around them.

This season the Kings were receiving some of the worst goaltending in the league until the trade with Columbus for Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo has gone 5-2-1 in eight games with a 1.75 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in what has been a career year for the 28-year-old. This recent stretch of success couldn’t have come at a better time for the Finnish goaltender, he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and with very few options available on the open market, Korpisalo could be in line for a hefty payday.

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