Should Bruins pay this reported price tag for d-man Vladislav Gavrikov? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins are among the teams reportedly interested in acquiring Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov before the March 3 NHL trade deadline, but he isn’t expected to come cheap.
Quite the opposite, actually.
What’s the asking price for Gavrikov? Three draft picks, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston.
“As good as the cap looks on Gavrikov for the Oilers and other teams, I think there’s still some ‘sticker shock’ on the price because the Blue Jackets are sticking, at least to this point, to a three-draft pick kind of return: a first, a third and a fourth at least one team was told this week and I think what makes that even tougher is the fact that this player is a pending unrestricted free agent,” Johnston said during TSN’s “Insider Trading” segment earlier this week.
“It doesn’t sound like he’s inclined to talk to whatever team ends up acquiring him about an extension at this point in time and so you’d be spending those three assets for a rental player who probably wants to become a free agent this summer.”
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That’s a very steep price for Gavrikov. Should the Bruins pay it?
Put simply: A first-, third- and fourth-round pick for Gavrikov would be an overpay.
The 27-year-old defenseman would be a solid addition to the Bruins blue line and give them valuable depth, penalty killing and toughness. He can also play over 20 minutes per game against quality competition. The Bruins should absolutely pursue Gavrikov, especially if they are unable to land Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes, but those three picks are too much to give up for a player of Gavrikov’s caliber who can also leave in the summer as a free agent.
Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn is a worse player than Gavrikov, but he’s a more experienced defensive defenseman with a much lower price tag — reportedly a third-round pick and another asset. Schenn would be a good backup plan for the Bruins if the Blue Jackets don’t budge on their price for Gavrikov.
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The Bruins have traded three of their last five first-round picks and their prospect pool has suffered as a result. The Athletic had Boston at No. 30 out of 32 teams in its new prospect pool rankings released last month.
If the Bruins are going to deal away another first-rounder, it needs to be for a player who will make a strong impact in the playoffs and could potentially re-sign in Boston long term (or at least for a couple years). A first-round pick for a rental doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Bruins.
