Someone's about to get paid.
Vladislav Gavrikov has proven to be a pretty reliable blue liner for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Especially now that he's arguably the No. 1 defenseman for the team with the absence of Zach Werenski for the rest of the season after suffering a separated shoulder and torn labrum.
In his fourth NHL season, it feels like Gavrikov (27 years old) is still young—and he is—but he's among the veterans on the team, both in age and tenure. After Erik Gulbranson and Gavin Bayreuther, Gavrikov is the third-oldest on the blue line and is among the most tenured Blue Jackets after debuting in 2019-20.
Vladislav Gavrikov, Evolving-Hockey
Gavrikov has nine points in 29 games (two goals, seven assists), with those notable goals coming as overtime game-winners, the first overtime winners of his career. He only needs three more goals during the rest of the season to match his career watermark. Gavrikov's career marks of 28 assists, 33 points, and 80 games in 2021-22 are all career highs.
A UFA in the off-season, Gavrikov should be a hot commodity this summer. He looks to already be one for the trade deadline if the Russian defenseman and the Blue Jackets don't agree to an extension, and the Jackets look to then cash in on his trade deadline value.
Gavrikov's current three-year deal signed in 2020 came with a cap hit of $2.8 million so that number will climb.
Among the more reliable Blue Jacket defensemen, especially after losing Werenski and not having Jake Bean, Nick Blankenburg, and Adam Boqvist, allows for Gavrikov to see more minutes. He's third on the team in 5v5 TOI/GP (17:14) per Natural Stat Trick and overall is seeing an average of 22:44 per game. He has a 3.03 xGA/60.
After 27:44 of ice time against Calgary, Vladislav Gavrikov was asked about playing long shifts.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/DdLjofmv6o
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) December 11, 2022
Think what you want about +/- in an ever-increasing analytics world we all live in, but it's still notable to mention that Gavrikov is the only Blue Jackets regular not on the negative side of the ledger. He was a plus-one before Thursday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Considering the state of the Blue Jackets blue line, and the fact he's playing the most minutes of his career on a nightly basis, that helps underline Gavrikov's importance for the club. He's tied for first among all Blue Jackets with Andrew Peeke with 58 blocked shots and had a team-co-leading three in Thursday's game.
The way the season has gone for the Blue Jackets isn't the way the players, coaches, or management would like to have drawn it up, but opportunities present themselves in different ways. Like the loss of Werenski allowing everyone a chance to step up, such as Gavrikov playing on the first pair, but also in mentoring the young guys like Marcus Bjork who he's been paired with over the last stretch of games.
That's not unnoticed around the league.
If it comes down to the Blue Jackets dealing Gavrikov, think of what they might be able to recoup. They got first-round draft picks for each of Nick Foligno and David Savard two seasons ago and Gavrikov is entering his prime seasons, and probably slots in as a second pairing for the right contender.
