One of the top priorities for Ken Holland after being named general manager of the Los Angeles Kings was trying to bring back Vladislav Gavrikov. He is set to be a free agent on July 1st and should generate plenty of interest from around the league if he were to not re-sign with the Kings.
The Kings for a while now have tried to lock in Gavrikov to a long-term deal, going back all the way to March when Rob Blake was in the role of general manager. However, the longer this dragged out the more likely it seemed that the Kings were not going to get a deal done.
On Wednesday, Holland met with the media and provided a little more insight into where the negotiations stand with Gavrikov. He noted that since he has taken over as general manager, the Kings have made additional offers but they haven't been accepted by Gavrikov.
According to Zach Dooley, Holland noted that the issue is not around the term of the contract but around the dollars.
KH added that his offers were “extended” from the original offer.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) June 25, 2025
Kings are prepared to offer a “long-term” deal and the gap is more in terms of “dollars” than term. https://t.co/IPj5xOxN33
LA Kings were going to run the risk of being outbid for Vladislav Gavrikov
The longer these negotiations went on, the holdup almost certainly was going to be around the value of the contract. During the past few months, there have been a number of defensemen who have signed new contracts, like Jakob Chychrun and Neal Pionk.
Pionk's contract is probably the baseline for negotiations for Gavrikov after Pionk signed a six-year deal with an AAV of $7 million. My guess is that the number has increased to $8 million for Gavrikov, and given the scarcity of available defensemen on the market, there will likely be teams that will offer that.
The good news is that there is still time for the Kings and Gavrikov to get a new contract done. However, it will be interesting if the Kings decide to pivot and trade his rights to another team to ensure they get some return if they believe a new contract won't happen.