As expected, the Rangers have signed defenseman Vlad Gavrikov. The contract comes in far, far under what many expected at 7 years and $7 million for the future top pair defenseman. It appears Gavrikov left money on the table to come to the Rangers, which is a big win for Chris Drury. Once Ivan Provorov signed for $8.5 million, the expectation was if the Rangers sign Vlad Gavrikov, it would be for close to 8 figures. That was wrong.
Gavrikov will slide in as Adam Fox’s defense partner, giving Fox some stability next to him that he simply hasn’t had in multiple years. Gavrikov gets his pay day, gets to play in New York alongside a top-three defenseman, and doesn’t have to be the top guy on the roster. Fox is the top guy.
This is a big win for the Rangers and Drury, as this contract is well under market value.
