"It's something new. I've never felt this before," the defenseman said prior to the 3-2 loss. "It's kind of weird right now to skate in the morning and know you're not going to play because of that. That's a different feeling obviously. You can't disagree with that. There are a lot of rumors. I try to live every day not thinking about the future."
Gavrikov has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) and 30 penalty minutes in 52 games this season and is second on the team in ice time per game (22:20) behind defenseman Zach Werenski (23:36). He can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Blue Jackets have seven games remaining before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on March 3. They are last in the NHL standings (16-34-4).
"There's no point hiding from it," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "We're getting down to crunch time here and we're going to take it one day at a time. Where we're at with 'Gavi' is, tonight he won't play and we'll see where we're at tomorrow."
Gavrikov, 27, made his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Selected by Columbus in the sixth round (No. 159) of the 2015 NHL Draft, he has 73 points (15 goals, 58 assists) in 256 regular-season games and three points (one goal, two assists) in 12 playoff games.
"That's my first NHL team, the team that drafted me, my NHL friends, my first NHL games," he said. "It's a lot of memories that are here and will be here, always going to be part of my heart. Because of those memories, some of the good stuff, the bad stuff, we've gone through that together, as a group. That means a lot."
Gavrikov has taken a bigger role on and off the ice this season as Columbus has dealt with numerous injuries to defensemen, including Werenski, who is out for the season after injuring his shoulder Nov. 10.
"I'll just speak on what I think of Gavi. Total pro. He gives it every night," Larsen said. "He's a guy you love to be around. He understands the situations -- we all do -- and when you're at the stage we're at in the position we're in, these are the decision you don't want to make, but we're there. He's a quality person first and foremost. He's been outstanding for us."
