Defensive Game-Changer: Why 29-Year-Old Defenseman Is the Rangers Ideal Free Agent Target
We’re just hours away from the free-agent frenzy beginning, and the New York Rangers are in need of some serious new Blueshirts. After the last few weeks of their offseason, New York has been focused on locking in youngsters like Matt Rempe and Adam Edström, while also completely rebooting the coaching staff. As the start of free agency is less than a day away, New York has yet to add a new Ranger to the roster during this offseason. Big change is coming, no doubt, and with big names currently finding new homes already, New York will definitely need to hurry on this. As fans prepare to say a possible goodbye to defenseman K’Andre Miller, a defenseman in Los Angeles looks to call New York his new home next season. As the 29-year-old LA defenseman’s trip to the Rangers feels inevitable at this point, what do the Rangers gain from this defensively?
Presumed highly by fans to replace him with Miller, Vladislav Gavrikov seems to be their top target for weeks now. With the Kings’ general manager Ken Holland expecting him to hit the open market, most describe this already as a “done deal,” with the 29-year-old defenseman expected to receive an AAV of between seven and eight million. If landing in New York, Gavrikov is expected to join the top defensive pair with Adam Fox, so what can he bring defensively? The six-foot-three and 220 lb defenseman certainly has some skill, but is it bold to say his numbers were carried by a defensively alright Kings team? Defensively, New York looks to use all the help they can get, and the Russian defenseman is known for his defensive ability, which is something he’ll need to be on the top pairing with Fox. Recording 30 points with five goals and 25 assists last season, he’ll need to step up if he wants to keep up with New York's best defenseman.
As the blue line looks to be the biggest focus for New York these next few seasons, Gavrikov would be the start of finally giving goaltender Igor Shesterkin the help he needs. Also known for playing several minutes, it could be a good chance to help the Blueshirts with their penalty kill. Though their penalty kill was probably the least of their problems last season, they’ll need as much defense as they can to keep it that way. As described as a defenseman that shuts down plenty of plays and quiets players down, his skills may finally give New York the defensive stability it’s needed for years. Having such good chemistry with his previous partner, Michael Anderson, he’ll need to find some chemistry with Adam Fox or Will Borgen, depending on what their new coach, Mike Sullivan, would like to experiment with early on, to better this defense. As the addition of Gavrikov seems inevitable, he brings lots of promise to the Rangers, and fans can only hope these are the first steps of a shutdown defense they've been wanting for all these years.
