Gavrikov signs 7-year, $49 million contract with Rangers


Vladislav Gavrikov signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. It has an average annual value of $7 million.

The 29-year-old defenseman was an unrestricted free agent. He had 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) in 82 regular-season games for the Los Angeles Kings last season and two assists in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Gavrikov also led the Kings with 140 blocked shots. He was second behind defenseman Drew Doughty in average ice time per game at 23:05. Doughty averaged 24:08 but was limited to 30 games.

The Rangers are expected to try to have Gavrikov play with Adam Fox on their top defense pair. Gavrikov is a left-handed shooter; Fox is a righty.

Selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the sixth round (No. 159) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Gavrikov has 135 points (29 goals, 106 assists) in 435 regular-season games for the Blue Jackets and Kings, and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 29 playoff games.

Will Cuylle also signed a two-year, $7.8 million contract with the Rangers on Tuesday. It has an average annual value of $3.9 million.

The 23-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent, had 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games this season.

Selected by the Rangers in the second round (No. 60) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Cuylle had 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in 81 regular-season games as a rookie in 2023-24. He also had two points (one goal, one assist) in 16 playoff games that season.

In addition to the signings, New York traded defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday for a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft and defenseman Scott Morrow. Miller then signed an eight-year, $60 million contract ($7.5 million AAV).

New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Will Cuylle on a two-year contract extension.

Cuylle, 23, established career-highs in goals (20), assists (25) and points (45) in 82 games played during the 2024-25 season. Cuylle was named the winner of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, chosen by the fans as the Rangers player who “goes above and beyond the call of duty.” His 301 hits ranked tied for third most among all NHL skaters and surpassed Ryan Callahan (285) for the most hits by a Rangers player in a single season since the NHL began tracking hits during the 2005-06 season. His plus-12 rating led the Blueshirts, and he also ranked tied for fifth in goals, tied for sixth in points and seventh in assists. In addition, Cuylle required the fewest games (23 GP) to 20 points in a campaign by a Rangers player under the age of 23 since Alex Kovalev (1995-96).

The 6-3, 211-pound forward has recorded 33 goals and 33 assists for 66 points and a plus-7 rating in 167 career NHL games, all with New York. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, his 550 hits rank third among all NHL skaters and first among the Blueshirts. In 81 games in 2023-24, he accumulated 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points and 249 hits, which ranked seventh among all NHL skaters. In 2023-24, Cuylle also won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, given to the top rookie from Rangers training camp. Internationally, the Toronto, Ontario native has represented Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship and the 2022 World Junior Championship.

Cuylle was originally selected by the Rangers in the second round, 60th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.



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