Vladislav Gavrikov signed a two-year, $11.75 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $5.875 million.
The 27-year-old defenseman had 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 72 regular-season games for the Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets this season, including nine points (three goals, six assists) in 20 games after he was acquired in a trade with the Blue Jackets on March 1.
Gavrikov, who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, had one assist in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“We will talk about [a contract] I’m pretty sure,” Gavrikov said during his exit interview on May 4. “… We’ll see what happens. I’m glad I had an opportunity to be part of that team and like I said before, we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Selected by Columbus in the sixth round (No. 159) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Gavrikov has 82 points (18 goals, 64 assists) in 276 regular-season games, and four points (one goal, three assists) in 18 playoff games.
“The good thing is, we got to see Gavrikov here and we saw and understood what kind of fit it was,” Kings general manager Rob Blake said on April 30. “When you can throw out defenders like that against top players, it certainly helps.”
The signing comes one day after the Kings acquired defenseman Kevin Connauton and forward Hayden Hodgson in a three-team trade involving the Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. Los Angeles traded goalie Cal Petersen, defenseman Sean Walker, defenseman prospect Helge Grans and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to the Flyers.
The Kings (47-25-10) finished third in the Pacific Division this season and lost to the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the Western Conference First Round.
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