The Rangers’ interest in Vladislav Gavrikov was no secret -- as it turns out, they’ve been interested in the veteran blueliner for a longtime.

That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when the two sides quickly came to an agreement on a seven-year, $49 million contract just over an hour into free agency opening on Monday afternoon.

Chris Drury and the Blueshirts are thrilled to be able to add a talent like Gavrikov to their core.

“We’ve liked Gavvy for a long time,” the GM and team president said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “Watching him play for Columbus and LA and the attributes he’s going to bring to out d-corps for many years to come have us very excited. He’s a big shutdown defenseman with the qualities of an elite shutdown guy.”

What exactly are those attributes Drury and the front office fell in love with? Well, it starts in the defensive zone, where the team struggled mightily for the most part during a disappointing showing last season.

“D-zone coverage, defending, defending in high-danger areas,” Drury said. “We were simply put, not good in those areas last year. We have to be better in our zone and we have to be better in front of Igor [Shesterkin] and [Jonathan] Quick.

“That’s the mindset that Gavvy shows up with every day. The size, the reach, the competitiveness, the way he defends, the way he’s able to compliment his partner. That’s what excited us in targeting this player and we’re thrilled to have him.”

Drury left the decision on where exactly Gavrikov would fit into this lineup up to new head coach Mike Sullivan, but it's pretty obvious that he was brought in to take on the top pairing minutes alongside All-Star Adam Fox.

The 29-year-old is coming off a stellar season, in which he filled that same role for one of the top defensive teams in the league -- putting together the highest average ice time of his six-year pro career (23:05).

Gavrikov also chipped in five goals, 25 assists, and was a team-high plus-26 rating.

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