Kings defenseman expected to reach free agency after career season

The Kings are not expecting to get an extension done with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov before he reaches unrestricted free agency on Tuesday, general manager Ken Holland told reporters Saturday, via John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor.

The news doesn’t rule out Gavrikov returning to the Kings if they dole out the most competitive offer for him on the open market, but it does understandably significantly decrease the likelihood of him remaining in L.A. next season. The Kings have had continued discussions with Gavrikov’s camp on a new deal this week, but still aren’t close, Holland said.

The silver lining for Los Angeles is that Gavrikov has a limited number of teams he’s considering signing with this summer, the Kings obviously being among them. The other presumed frontrunner for his services will be the Rangers, where there have been strong indications of mutual interest, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said last week.

If Gavrikov departs, that’s now two defense slots L.A. needs to replace on the open market or via trade. The team also traded young righty Jordan Spence to the Senators during the draft.

Replacing Gavrikov directly will be a struggle. The 29-year-old is understandably looking to cash in following the best two-way season of his career, averaging over 23 minutes per game while posting 30 points and a +26 rating in 82 appearances for the Kings.

There’s no one available who checks all the boxes of Gavrikov’s strengths as a puck-mover, penalty-killer, and shot-blocker with a big frame. Some names could at least help them recoup a big chunk of Gavrikov’s value.

Ivan Provorov is one, and it looks like the fellow Russian lefty will be available next week with no extension looming with the Blue Jackets. He doesn’t match Gavrikov’s defensive skillset but could produce better possession impacts in an insulated L.A. system, and he has plenty of experience logging the type of deployment Gavrikov managed for the Kings this season. He’s also one of the more durable players in the league and has three straight 82-game seasons under his belt.

Matt Grzelcyk, Ryan Lindgren and Dmitry Orlov round out the next tier of available lefties after Provorov, all of which present a more significant projected downgrade on the value Gavrikov brought to the Kings’ blue line last season. Among trade targets, there could be an informal swap with the Rangers in the cards. Los Angeles has kicked tires on New York’s K’Andre Miller, a pending RFA, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. A speculative sign-and-trade that sees Gavrikov head to Manhattan while the Kings acquire Miller’s signing rights could be feasible.

That would, of course, leave the Kings looking to pursue a more defensively responsible righty to replace the puck-moving Spence. That’s not exactly the skillset Miller provides, and in order to get the most out of his all-around value, he’d need something of an anchor partner next to him on the right side. Top open-market righties include Aaron Ekblad — although that likely won’t work under the salary cap if they’re already bringing in a speculative mid-priced asset in Miller — along with Cody Ceci, Henri Jokiharju and Dante Fabbro.