Three hundred and eighteen.
That's how many days there are until July 1, 2023, the first day unrestricted free agents can sign with other clubs. Unless he signs an extension before that time, Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov will be among that group.
I went into greater detail about the best season of his career in the article linked above, but to summarize:
- 80 GP, 22:17 ATOI (2nd on the team)
- 124 hits (3rd), 138 blocked shots (2nd)
- Five goals, 28 assists (6th), 33 points (8th)
- 44.57% 5v5 xGF%* (10th among players with 620+ 5v5 minutes), 43.55% 5v5 HDCF%** (7th among players with 620+ 5v5 minutes), via naturalstattrick.com.
Next summer, Gavrikov will be 27, which is on the younger side of players with their first crack at unrestricted free agency. Other notable pending left-shot UFA defensemen that will be younger than 30 include Mackenzie Weegar (29 years old, right-handed but plays LD), Travis Sanheim (27), and Ryan Graves (28).
Ring Ring, its Gavrikov!
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 8, 2020
Vladislav Gavrikov scores from the point to make it 2-0 for the @BlueJacketsNHL! #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/y8NJhnob3J
According to Cap Friendly, the Jackets have a projected $13,779,167 in cap space for the 2023-24 season and have four pending UFAs and 11 pending RFAs on the roster. I went into further detail about those players last month in the article linked below.
However, if all 16 players are re-signed, not all of them will be on the NHL roster so they won't count against the salary cap, which is projected to be at $83.5M for the '23-'24 season. Re-signing Gavrikov does not look like it's going to be challenging if he continues to grow and build off of his season last year, but there's always a risk of losing the player if he is allowed to hit the open market.
The best of the best of Vladislav Gavrikov #CBJ | @baesman pic.twitter.com/58JYZhANmA
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 1, 2020
Assuming he continues to improve, I'd ballpark the AAV of Gavrikov's next contract, for whichever team signs him, to be between $4M and $5.5M, considering the UFA defensemen signings this summer.
#CBJ Gavrikov goal pic.twitter.com/Jt3QJ9RHpR
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) March 30, 2022
Currently, Gavrikov is one of nine left-shot defensemen in the organization and only one of three on the NHL roster (Zach Werenski and Jake Bean). The most notable non-roster left-shot blue-liners are Denton Mateychuk ('22 Draft, 12th overall), Stanislav Svozil ('21, 69th), and Samuel Knazko ('20, 78th). Those three are likely at least a year from playing in the NHL, so if Gavrikov departs in free agency, the left side of the defense would be thin for the '23-'24 season.
#CBJ Gavrikov goal pic.twitter.com/d8fSxLOGLP
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) March 29, 2022
It will be interesting to follow the negotiation process between Gavrikov and the Jackets' management team throughout the season and even until the summer if both parties do not agree on an extension.
*5v5 xGF%: Percentage of expected goals when the player is on the ice at 5v5 that the player's team scores.
**5v5 HDCF%: Percentage of high-danger chances goals when the player is on the ice at 5v5 that the player's team generates.
