Updated Landing Spots for Vladislav Gavrikov amid NHL Trade Rumors

There are two-and-a-half weeks left until the NHL trade deadline, and this year's big-ticket players are at last getting real speculation thrown around about their next destinations. One of those players is Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.

Gavrikov is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July and comes with a trade-palatable salary-cap hit of $2.8 million. That he could be moved without there being too many other machinations needed to make it happen makes him an easy target of desire, particularly for teams that may be in on Arizona's Jakob Chychrun but are spooked out by the Coyotes' lofty asking price.

Chychrun's presence makes it harder to predict where Gavrikov is headed. NHL insider Chris Johnston wrote that the Blue Jackets should get a first-round pick plus another pick or player for Gavrikov. If that price seems familiar for a Blue Jackets defenseman available in a trade, it's because it's what Columbus got from Tampa Bay for David Savard around the trade deadline in 2021.

With the possibility of landing that kind of haul, like the Coyotes, the Jackets are sitting Gavrikov out for "trade-related reasons" even though, as Johnston adds, there isn't a deal imminently forthcoming. Maybe there's a nice beach villa he can stay at until March 3.

Although Gavrikov might get viewed as the second prize to Chychrun, their styles of game couldn't be more different. While Chychrun is an all-around outstanding blueliner capable of running a power play and killing off penalties as well, Gavrikov leans in heavily on the defensive side of the game. He's physical, he'll throw his body around and he'll block shots. It's the exact kind of grit teams crave for the postseason.

We took a look at five teams that make sense to pursue the 27-year-old left-handed shot from Russia. If this list gives you a sudden case of déjà vu, that's a feature, not a bug.

All we know about what the Maple Leafs will do at the deadline is that they're going to do something. Whether they wind up chasing down a forward to help their depth up front or a defenseman to help solidify their back end, everything they do comes with needing to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs in mind, or at least it should.

Yes, the Leafs could be in the running for Jakob Chychrun, but the extreme price tag may be too rich for their blood, as they may have to give up a first-round pick, hot prospect Matthew Knies and another player or high-end pick. That's where Gavrikov comes in.

Gavrikov's projected cost of a first-round pick and something more is a bit more sensible for the Maple Leafs. The Leafs are, and have been, in win-now mode, and after getting bounced in the opening round of postseason play in six consecutive seasons, the pressure is sky-high to just win a round, something they haven't done since 2003-04.

The Leafs defense is very capable of moving the puck up the ice and producing goals. What's missing is a guy who handles the dirty work in the defensive zone. The thought of adding someone whose best skills fit the eye test better than the math test doesn't always scream success in the NHL these days, but when you consider the Leafs have a plethora of agile puck-movers, bringing in Gavrikov makes a lot of sense.

After all, seeing Morgan Rielly sliding to block shots, while noble, is a huge risk because if he were to go down, things would get murky quickly for Toronto. And while injuries are going to happen no matter what because hockey is such a physical sport, trying to reduce those minutes when injuries are more likely to occur helps.

The Wild are all kinds of fascinating these days. They've been in a brutal funk of late, winning three of their past 10 games, and they are perilously close to falling to fourth in the Central Division while Nashville lurks in the distance.

Minnesota's biggest bugaboo during its recent slide is lack of scoring. During that 10-game stretch the Wild have 19 goals, fewer than two per game. They've gotten outstanding goaltending from Filip Gustavsson all while the defense has allowed 32.3 shots on goal per game and given up 33 goals, 3.3 per game. That's not a great way to rack up wins.

Can't score, struggling to stop others from scoring, but still getting pretty good goaltending. Sounds like adding help up front and at the back end would be wise. While they could recall Marco Rossi for offensive help, the defensive side is a bit trickier. Enter Gavrikov.

Gavrikov would provide an immediate upgrade to the Wild defense corps and give them a reliable stopper and shot-blocker. Minnesota already has an outstanding defender in Jonas Brodin, but it needs a boost, and Gavrikov would be ideal. The catch for the Wild would be whether they'd attempt to extend his contract. Their salary-cap situation the next two seasons gets a bit more restrictive with nearly $15 million in dead cap, up $2 million from this season.

The Kings' reported dalliance with the Arizona Coyotes over Jakob Chychrun has put them firmly in the spotlight to be the leaders to land him. But trade negotiations are a funny sort of thing, and teams have to be prepared for any and all possibilities, even if you're the supposed favorites for a player.

You could argue that the way to improve the defense is to forget about Chychrun and just go right for Gavrikov. In the Kings' case, preparing a Plan B around Gavrikov would also give them a cudgel to use against Arizona in those negotiations.

After all, if Kings GM Rob Blake tells Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong they don't have to do anything for Chychrun because they've got something else they're working on, it could be a bluff...or the absolute truth.

The Kings are operating from a position of strength. They're in good shape for the playoffs, they've got a boatload of prospects and they don't have to do anything. They have plenty of defensive depth in the NHL and with their prospects. Having the assets to make a big trade if they want to means L.A. can walk away from the table and not feel bad about it, whereas Columbus would be up against it if the team is unable to move Gavrikov because he would likely leave as a free agent.

Whether it's Chychrun or Gavrikov, the Kings can make that deal happen no matter what. Whether they want to do it bad enough is another matter entirely.

Ah yes, the Oilers. Edmonton's attention to trade possibilities has been all over the place, although one area the team seems ready to make an upgrade at is on the blue line.

We've read a ton about the Oilers' interest in Erik Karlsson in San Jose, we talked recently about how Jakob Chychrun would make a good fit there if they were willing to meet the Coyotes' desires, and the same applies to Vladislav Gavrikov as well.

A Karlsson deal would be immensely difficult with how big his contract is ($11.5 million cap hit) and how many years are left on it after this one (four). Not only do teams haggle over the right players to go back, but also about how much money San Jose would eat to help make it happen and what the added cost from the Oilers would be for that. Those issues would not be present if they took a swing for Gavrikov.

Yes, the Blue Jackets want a solid return, and why wouldn't they? Gavrikov would be beneficial to any contending team he landed on, and in Edmonton's case it would mean shoring up a defensive group that's gotten its fair share of criticism over time. Gavrikov would do more of what Darnell Nurse does when he's not helping guide the attack from the back end. Giving Edmonton a player it can bank on to lay it all out there defending could be the move that helps get the team into a fight for the Western Conference.

Like we said in the Chychrun piece, the Oilers lack in prospect depth and have two young players getting steady minutes on the blue line with Philip Broberg and Evan Bouchard. Had the Oilers been a building team, that pairing would be perfect for getting a firsthand education of what it's like to defend in the NHL. But when it comes to being serious about making it to the final and winning a Stanley Cup, veteran reassurance is almost necessary, particularly in Edmonton.

When you examine the Boston Bruins' lineup and contrast that with their best-in-the-NHL record, the conclusion most people will make is that they don't have to do anything at the deadline to continue being the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

While that may be true, you can never be too sure, and GM Don Sweeney is in no position to leave anything to chance this season. So how do you improve a team that's allowed the fewest goals and has a top-five offense? You make it even more difficult for opponents to keep up with you, that's what you do. Adding Vladislav Gavrikov to the Bruins defense corps would make life even more miserable for opponents the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

Think of how the Bruins traditionally like to play.

They love to hit, they thrive on physical play, and they go all out to protect their zone and make the game easier on the goalie. They've done that all season in helping Linus Ullmark to being a top candidate for the Vezina. Getting Gavrikov into the mix and putting him on the ice for some of the hardest matchups as well as on the penalty kill (Boston has the league's best kill, too) would all but seal off every opportunity for opponents to generate quality scoring chances.

Boston adding virtually anyone at the deadline will be viewed as the rich getting richer, but if the Bruins are able to get into the mix for one of the bigger names out there, it'll seem like an insurmountable challenge for everyone in the NHL.