New York Rangers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Noah Laba and Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

Rangers Should Be Cautious With Gavrikov’s Minutes

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Abate | Last updated Jan 26, 2026 8:25 AM ET

The New York Rangers are in last place in the Eastern Conference, and general manager Chris Drury announced that the team will begin to retool its roster. A lot of key players have struggled, and they have missed injured stars Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin. One bright spot this season has been the strong play of defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, but the team should be cautious about his playing time with New York outside of the playoff race.

Gavrikov’s Play

After getting drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, Gavrikov made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019-20 and developed into a reliable defensive defenseman for them. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 2022-23 and helped them make the postseason in all three of his seasons with them. Last season, he contributed offensively in addition to his typical impressive defensive play and finished with five goals and 25 assists in 82 games.

This offseason, the Rangers signed Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract. After struggling to find the right defense partner for Fox in 2024-25, Gavrikov proved to be an excellent fit on their top pair this season.

Gavrikov, who is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, has used his strength and reach to his advantage in the defensive zone. He is rarely caught out of position, makes smart plays with the puck, and has been steady on the penalty kill. He also made smart pinches in the offensive zone and showed that he was capable of chipping in offensively. He formed a dominant top pair with Fox, who is currently out with a lower-body injury and also missed extended time with an upper-body injury earlier this season.

With Fox out, Gavrikov has primarily played with Braden Schneider, but the pair has made some defensive mistakes. He has also taken over for Fox on the Rangers’ top power-play unit, and he has done a nice job and scored the first two power-play goals of his career. He has eight goals and nine assists in 52 games this season.

Gavi with a BLAST pic.twitter.com/bU7uxp9UDm
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 20, 2026

Gavrikov has played a lot of minutes lately as he is the team’s top healthy defenseman, and he played 28:02 in the Rangers’ 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 23. He is averaging 24 minutes per game, which is a career-high, and though he is still playing well, he is making more defensive mistakes than he did earlier this season.

Rangers Need to Focus on Their Future

With the Rangers well out of playoff contention, they should focus on their future, and that means making sure they don’t burn out Gavrikov in the first season of his seven-year contract. He is 30 years old, and the hope is that he can be a top-pair defenseman for most, if not all, of his contract. He blocks a lot of shots and takes a lot of hits, and it does not make sense to play him almost 30 minutes per game when the team is in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Noah Laba and Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

The Rangers have been reluctant to trust their young players when they were contenders, but this is the time to give them opportunities. On defense, Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow need to get consistent ice time, and Morrow should get more opportunities on the power play while Fox is out.

Veteran defensive defenseman Carson Soucy is having a strong season on the second defense pair, but it makes sense to trade him before the deadline since he is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. If he is traded, Morrow and Robertson should continue to get consistent ice time once Fox returns.

Rangers Need Gavrikov to Be Someone They Can Rely on Long-Term

After signing a big contract, Gavrikov has been everything the Rangers could have hoped for in his first season with them. He and Fox can form an elite top defense pair for many years, but the focus for this season should be on trusting young defensemen like Robertson and Morrow, while preventing Gavrikov from wearing down.