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Vladislav Gavrikov

Boqvist, Gavrikov Added To COVID Protocol

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are down a pair of defensemen, as both Adam Boqvist and Vladislav Gavrikov have been added to the COVID protocol. The release notes that Boqvist actually entered the protocol yesterday, meaning his timer will be slightly ahead of his teammate.

Boqvist, 21, is having a nice season for the Blue Jackets, scoring seven goals and 14 points through 26 games. The young defender played more than 20 forgettable minutes on Saturday against the Florida Panthers though, as the team was blown out by the Eastern Conference powerhouse. Unfortunately, that’ll be the last action he sees for a few days as he faces a minimum of a five-day isolation period.

Gavrikov meanwhile played 18:35 on Saturday, which is actually close to a season-low for the 26-year-old defenseman. Usually playing more than 21 minutes a night, he too is having a strong offensive season for Columbus with 17 points in 36 games. That solid point total has been backed up by some analytical success too, as Gavrikov is given the hardest defensive deployment on the Blue Jackets roster but remains almost even in terms of goals for and against.

With both out, the Blue Jackets have elevated Gavin Bayreuther to the second pair with Jake Bean and will insert Gabriel Carlsson back into the lineup. The team already had Cole Sillinger and Jakub Voracek in the protocol, but should get the latter back at least if he can test out in the coming days. Columbus doesn’t play again until Thursday.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Vladislav Gavrikov

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have inked one of their two key restricted free agents, signing Vladislav Gavrikov to a three-year contract worth a total of $8.4MM ($2.8MM AAV). Gavrikov was an RFA but did not have arbitration rights and could not be signed to an offer sheet. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen released this statement on the deal:

Vladimir Gavrikov was everything we hoped he would be during his rookie season last year, establishing himself as a top four defenseman in the National Hockey League. He is still a young player that we expect will get better every year and continue to be an important part of our blueline.

A sixth-round pick from 2015, Gavrikov took his time before finally coming over to North America in 2019, but when he did he was an instant success. The 24-year-old defenseman has quickly become a top option for the Blue Jackets, scoring 18 points in 69 games this season while logging 19 minutes a night. Now that the team has moved on from Ryan Murray those should increase even further, but he’ll still be at a very reasonable price tag.

Gavrikov had little leverage in negotiations with the Blue Jackets, other than perhaps threatening to return to the KHL. Notably, the three-year term that he worked out will take him directly to unrestricted free agency at age-27, the best chance for him to maximize his value at this point.

For Columbus though, the third year is incredibly important. In the summer of 2022, they will need to work out new contracts for both Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, with the former actually being scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Having Gavrikov locked in for just $2.8MM when extensions kick in for both of their top defensemen will be key in keeping their financial situation in order.

It also will give them some security if David Savard, currently their trusty third option, leaves as a UFA after this upcoming season. Savard, 30, will carry a $4.25MM cap hit this year but should command a raise on the open market after so many years of steady play.

Now, the Blue Jackets can focus all of their attention on Pierre-Luc Dubois, the final RFA to sign and arguably their most important forward. Dubois will command a huge raise, but Kekalainen has been clear that he will not rush into a deal that doesn’t make sense for his team. Dubois could potentially sign an offer sheet, but with such little cap space left around the league that seems extremely unlikely at this point.

Columbus Blue Jackets Issue Qualifying Offers

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced which restricted free agents will receive qualifying offers, with few surprises. Josh Anderson, Gabriel Carlsson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vladislav Gavrikov, Matiss Kivlenieks, Ryan MacInnis, Kevin Stenlund and Calvin Thurkauf have all received qualifying offers from the team and will remain in the organization.

That means Devin Shore, Maxime Fortier, Justin Scott, Paul Bittner, Michael Prapavessis and Ryan Collins did not, making them unrestricted free agents on Friday.

The only real surprise is Shore, and only because the Blue Jackets acquired him this season in exchange for Sonny Milano. The 26-year-old Shore has not been particularly effective since the 2017-18 campaign, splitting the last two seasons between three teams and recording just 12 points in 2019-20. Add in the fact that he was due a $2.4MM qualifying offer in order to remain with the Blue Jackets and it’s not hard to see why the team decided to cut bait.

Still, Shore could represent a cheap depth signing for a team this offseason if they think he can be of use to a bottom-six. The 26-year-old forward has experience at center and on the wing and has scored double-digit goals in three different seasons.

Bittner and Collins may also bring a twinge of disappointment to Blue Jackets fans, given they were both second-round selections that never seemed to pan out. Bittner especially was hyped coming off a successful junior career but failed to score much in the AHL. Collins, the 47th pick in 2014, never added any offense to his defensive game and could only rely on his size for so long.

Blue Jackets Working On Long-Term Extension With Vladislav Gavrikov

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Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has been under contract for less than a year now but because he burned the first year of his entry-level pact in the playoffs last season, he will be in need of a new deal this summer.  Talks on a new contract have begun, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required), who adds that the focus is on getting a long-term deal done.

The 24-year-old has been a key part of the back end for Columbus this season, logging just shy of 19 minutes a night while chipping in with five goals and 13 assists.  While those don’t jump off the charts at first glance, he has been able to provide a steady performance on a team that has been hit hard by the injury bug this year; his 69 games played leads all Blue Jackets defensemen.

Gavrikov will be owed a qualifying offer of just over $874K, a five percent bump on his salary this season which excludes his signing bonus.  Although he is in line to qualify to earn half of his $850K in Schedule ‘A’ bonuses, those aren’t factored into the required offer.

It’s worth noting that while Gavrikov’s deal will be up, he won’t be a typical restricted free agent.  Because of a lack of professional experience, he’s classified as a 10.2 (c) player in the CBA which means he is unable to be offer-sheeted and does not have any eligibility for salary arbitration.

It’s not surprising that Columbus wants to work out a long-term deal with Gavrikov.  He’s someone that they waited for basically four years to come over after being drafted and there is minimal stability on their back end in terms of current players under contract.  No one is signed past 2021-22 while veterans Ryan Murray and David Savard are eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2021 so there is some potential for a lot of turnover in the next little while.  Getting Gavrikov signed up for the foreseeable future would at least lock one important part of their back end in place.

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