As he thrives with the Kings, Vladislav Gavrikov looking forward to a “special” return to Columbus

The LA Kings are used to less-than-friendly receptions when visiting Columbus. I haven’t caught a Columbus – Pittsburgh game recently, but I’d have to imagine, even two teams later, that Blue Jackets fans haven’t forgiven Jeff Carter, even now 11 years later.

The reception for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, though, figures to be much friendlier.

Gavrikov entered the league in Columbus during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and spent nearly four full seasons as a Blue Jacket. When he was traded to the Kings last spring at the trade deadline, there was no shortage of individuals in Ohio looking to say good things about him and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.

Tomorrow, Gavrikov will return to Columbus as a visiting player for the first time. Different locker room, different set of jerseys, same arena with a lot of special memories. From his time in Columbus, Gavrikov recalls a fanbase that was quick to show the love for players who meant a lot to them. He’s looking forward to that moment tomorrow, in a place that meant a lot to him as a player.

“Yeah, that’s going to be first time visiting Columbus as the away team, that’ll be a pretty special game,” he said. “Warm feelings, the fans and the city, a lot of happened there, a lot of good memories. It was my first NHL team, obviously, my first big adventure. I still have a lot of friends over there which is going be kind of cool.”

Having played with the Blue Jackets organization for such a long time, Gavrikov still has a ton of connections with both the city and the team.

Lots of teammates he’s played with, lot’s of staff he built relationships with and lots of places in the city that hold some meaning to him. Typically when the Kings fly East, they do so two days before their first game, looking to get acclimated to the time difference and get a full practice day under their belts. The schedule for this trip doesn’t allow for that, so the Kings flew into Columbus earlier today, heading into tomorrow’s game.

A trip in which Gavrikov specifically would have liked another day in his former city, but still time available to catch up with former teammates and still friends.

“I’ll meet the guys, probably for a dinner,” he said. “I wish we did have an extra day to see more people who were around me, but it’s alright, we’ll have times for that.”

While Columbus offers a ton of memories, his present is in Los Angeles, and what a present his presence has been.

Since he was acquired via trade this past March, Gavrikov has been a great fit with the Kings, signing a two-year contract extension this past summer to remain with the organization through at least the end of next season.

Since March 1 of last year, Gavrikov is a Top-10 defensemen in the NHL in several puck possession metrics. With Gavrikov on the ice, the Kings have controlled more than 63 percent of high-danger attempts, with the Russian-born blueliner ranking third in the NHL amongst defensemen in that metric. Gavrikov is also a Top-10 player in percentage of both scoring chances and shots on goal controlled in that span.

From the outside looking in, it felt like he jumped right in without any adjustment period, even if he admitted there was one especially since he came in during the season.

“To be honest, it took more than a couple days to learn every detail in the system, probably more like a few weeks,” he recalled. “It was so hard to jump in and get in the structure, doing the right things, because I never played a 1-3-1 before, that was my first time running that. The language is kind of specific, terms and stuff, so it takes a while but now I feel so comfortable.”

That comfort level has gone right on up the ladder, from practices to games.

The Kings are thought of as being one of the more detailed organizations in the NHL when it comes to the way they play the game. That includes team structure, language used by the coaching staff, practice plans and off-ice preparation. While it can take a bit of time for newcomers to adapt, as we’ve seen over the years, we’re now seeing the impact that level of detail can have on the outcomes of games, with the Kings sitting at 14-4-3.

Now that he’s comfortable, it’s like snapping the fingers when Gavrikov and his teammates hit the ice.

“Even when we practice, we have drills with the specific names,” he added. “So, Todd just calls out three phrases and we all know what’s going to happen next 30 minutes.”

Gavy is an absolute gem. 🤣#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/yaHJfGCLSq

— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 21, 2023

In his Kings debut, Gavrikov partnered with Sean Walker on the team’s third defensive pairing, but quickly jumped on the left side next to Matt Roy, giving the Kings two pairings they trusted on the ice in all situations, against all competition.

While Gavrikov’s individual metrics have been eye-popping, the metrics of the pairing have been just as good, if not better. Since the trade, no pairing in the league has controlled a higher percentage of shots on goal than the Gavrikov / Roy duo, among those with at least 500 minutes played at even strength. No pairing has controlled a higher percentage of scoring chances or high-danger chances, either. When playing together, Gavrikov and Roy have been on the ice for 27 goals for, compared to 13 goals against, with that 67.5% ranking a paltry second-best in the NHL.

Gavrikov called it a “comfortable” pairing, while Roy agreed when asked if it felt like Gavrikov is like a left-handed version of himself on the ice. He elaborated, on the like mindset the two have together.

“I think we have similar mindsets and I feel like we play a more defensive game first, but whenever we can jump into the offense, I think we look to do that,” Roy said.

With a comfortable set of new surroundings on the ice, Gavrikov now heads back to Ohio for what will be his full-circle moment, of sorts, against Columbus.

He’s coming to town in a new situation, with a new organization, in pursuit of not only another playoff berth, but going beyond that this season. A new situation doesn’t make a new town, though, and new memories don’t replace old ones.

While he’s not exactly sure what to expect come tomorrow night, he’s definitely expecting something to come on the videoboard during the game, something that will give him the opportunity to share a moment with the fans that supported him over the years, and a fanbase that means something to him, personally.

“I’m pretty sure they will do something, they always do nice things for former players, even if you didn’t play that much for them, they still do some sort of a video,” he added. “It’ll be pretty special for me.”

We’ve seen how special those moments can be over the years, whether it be Viktor Arvidsson’s first game back in Nashville, Phillip Danault’s in Montreal or Kevin Fiala’s in Minnesota. As the Kings their longest trip of the season to date, Gavrikov is hoping to kick things off on the right foot with a special night for all.