Chris Drury is as circumspect as they come, but the Rangers normal supervisor certain said a mouthful when he was requested Wednesday during a Zoom news briefing why the team focused Vladislav Gavrikov when the free agent market opened at midday on Tuesday.
“We’ve liked Gavvy for a long time, watching him play for Columbus and LA and the attributes he’s going to bring to our D-corps for many years to come have us very excited,” Drury said of the 29-year-old, 6-foot-3, 220-pound lefty who signed a seven-year deal price an AAV of $7 million. “He’s a big shutdown defense with the qualities of an elite shutdown guy.”
OK, that was fairly routine and boilerplate stuff. What came a few minutes later was not that at all.
“To me it starts in our D-zone,” the GM said. “D-zone protection, defending, actually defending in high-danger areas which we were, merely put, not good at last yr. We have to be higher in our zone and we have to higher in entrance of [goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick].
“And that’s the mindset [Gavrikov] shows up with every single day. The size, the reach, the competitiveness, the way he defends, the way he’s able to complement his partner, that’s what excited of all of in targeting this player. We’re thrilled to have him as a key part of the D-corps.”
Chris Drury of the Rangers poses with new head coach Mike Sullivan. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Defense, protection, protection will be incoming head coach Mike Sullivan and the workers’s first, second and third precedence after the Blueshirts bled out in their own finish a yr in the past with metrics that universally ranked in the league’s nether areas.
Drury would not usurp Sullivan’s proper to make out the lineup card, so he did not state that Gavrikov was introduced here to companion with Adam Fox on the first pair.
But that is also precisely why Gavrikov was introduced here. They did not make investments $49 million in Gavrikov so he could play on the second unit. If there is one mixture that can be etched into stone for October, it will be Gavrikov and Fox on the first pair.
Vladislav Gavrikov of the Los Angeles Kings skates during the second interval of the recreation against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on April 14, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NHLI via Getty Images
Drury addressed the trades of both Chris Kreider and Okay’Andre Miller, the latter despatched to Carolina on Tuesday on a sign-and-trade in which the Blueshirts got a 2026 first- and second-rounder plus 22-year-old proper defenseman Scott Morrow while the one-time No. 79 got an eight-year, $60 million deal ($7.5M per) from Carolina.
Or, as the 25-year-old Miller said on a Zoom call hosted by the Canes, “It was a nice day for me and my household — life altering.
“Me and my mom are not only set for life, but extremely happy for the position we are in.”
The Rangers did not really feel comfy committing to Miller long run and it was unrealistic for him to play on a one-year contract. As with the Kreider situation, we’re informed that Drury and Miller’s camp were in fixed communication over the previous month. According to a supply, “It was never adversarial.”
“There are a lot of moving parts to every situation and for this one as well. K’Andre is a terrific young player, but I think when you have a young player a year or a couple of years away from [unrestricted] free agency, it’s not always the easiest thing to come to an agreement for a long-term contract,” Drury said. “We just felt at this time it was best to allow him to explore another opportunity and it kind of came together.”
Speaking publicly for the first time since Kreider was despatched to Anaheim on June 12, the GM did not get into the weeds of why the club’s longest-tenured player was despatched away other than alluding to cap constraints.
“A Rangers legend in every way and I can’t thank him enough for all his contributions on and off the ice,” Drury said of the franchise’s third all-time main purpose scorer (336). “He will always be a Ranger in my eyes and I think in a lot of our fans’ eyes as well.”
The Blueshirts have roughly $1.5 million in house with a 22-man shadow roster (13+7+2) that consists of Taylor Raddysh, the 27-year-old winger who signed a two-year free agent deal price $1.5 million per after spending the season with Washington. Raddysh will probably enter camp with a leg up on younger’uns Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann as a third-liner.
Vladislav Gavrikov of the Los Angeles Kings battles for place against Trent Frederic of the Edmonton Oilers during the first extra time interval of Game Four of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. NHLI via Getty Images
The roster also consists of Scott Morrow, the 22-year-old proper defenseman who came back in the deal for Miller and does not embrace Matthew Robertson. The composition of the protection — ideally, Braden Schneider and Will Borgen on the second pair with Carson Soucy or Urho Vaakanainen with Morrow on the third pair — will be decided at camp.
And the roster will be impacted by the resolution whether to deploy Mika Zibanejad on the proper or stack facilities J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck and Zibanejad. If No. 93 is on the proper, then the third-line heart place probably will be contested between Juuso Parssinen, Brendan Brisson and perhaps Dylan Roobroeck. But if Zibanejad is in the center, there will be an alternative for Gabe Perreault or another youthful prospect to earn a prime six spot on proper wing.
The Rangers don’t have significant enough cap house to do much other than fiddle on the margins. Maybe there will be a coaching camp tryout or two.
So what you see is fairly much what you’ll get. And regardless who goes where with whom, it will all begin with the back finish.
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