The top free agent the Los Angeles Kings have this offseason is defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and if they hope to re-sign him, there is going to be a lot of competition. They might have their next general manager, but whoever steps into that role will need to move quickly if they hope to bring him back.
After the announcement, Kings' president Luc Robitaille said that the team was not going to wait for the next general manager to begin discussing new contracts for players like Gavrikov. However, the Kings have been discussing a new deal since around the trade deadline, and at the time, Rob Blake seemed confident a deal would get done.
Unfortunately, free agency is right around the corner and Gavrikov likely will want to test the market because he likely will receive one of the top contracts this offseason.
LA Kings can't afford to match this contract projection for Vladislav Gavrikov
The Los Angeles Kings are going to have plenty of cap space this offseason to improve the roster, but this contract projection from AFP Analytics on Daily Faceoff would not be a smart move as it will take a big chunk of that cap space.
Frank Seravlli put together his latest Top 50 Free Agents, and Gavrikov was the 10th free agent and third-best defenseman behind only Nikolaj Ehlers and Ivan Provorov. However, Gavrikov is projected to receive the biggest contract of the three at seven years with an average salary of $7.6 million.
There is no question that Gavrikov had a good season and took on a bigger role with Drew Doughty out for the first half of the season. However, he will be turning 30 next season and at this average salary, it raises concerns if he can still be as productive at the end of this contract.
In addition to Gavrikov, the Kings will be looking to re-sign Andrei Kuzmenko and restricted free agent Alex Laferriere. If they were to bring back all three, especially at the contract projection for Gavrikov, this doesn't leave much room to really improve the roster and that is why they might want to go another direction if they are confident they can bring in a top free agent.