The New York Rangers officially began training camp on Thursday, where fans were frantically checking their phones for any updates during practices and in the team vs. team scrimmage. For the most part, things went as expected when it came to the forward lines and defensive pairings. Of course, fans are waiting to see their new additions, such as forward Pavel Dorofeyev.
The Rangers paid a high price to bring in Dorofeyev, which includes a seven-year, $77 million contract extension and two first-round picks to acquire him from the Vegas Golden Knights. The expectation is that Dorofeyev will replace the production left by Artemi Panarin and to help them with their scoring woes last season. All in all, he is an addition Rangers fans should be excited about.
In fact, one prominent Rangers player is looking forward to him contributing on the power play.
Adam Fox says power play featuring Pavel Dorofeyev and Mika Zibanejad is 'pick your poison'
After the first scrimmage and practice on Thursday, Fox was asked about the team's top power play unit, featuring himself, Mika Zibanejad and Dorofeyev. Fox said that with those two forwards, it's "pick your poison," (h/t The Athletic's Peter Baugh).
As Rangers fans know, Fox plays the role of the facilitator, or quarterback, of the top power play unit. When he was sidelined with injuries last season, the Rangers' offense took a significant dip. Fox has a keen eye for finding a scoring opportunity. Even with the struggles last season, and the players on the move, the Rangers still had a top-tier power play unit, boasting a 24.7-percent success rate (fifth-best in the NHL).
Zibanejad was part of the top power play unit. Last season, Zibanejad had 35 power play points (16 goals, 19 assists) to his credit, which is the seventh-most among all players last season. He's shown he can put the puck in the back of the net, or find the wide open shot with the extra skater advantage.
Now with Dorofeyev, the power play should be just as good as last season's.
Pavel Dorofeyev thrived on the power play during his time with the Golden Knights
One of the main criticisms the Rangers faced after completing the sign-and-trade for Dorofeyev was that he was already on a stacked Golden Knights team that featured the likes of Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone. But the advanced metrics back up that he is one of the better shooters in the NHL.
On the power play, he wasn't that far behind Zibanejad in terms of points. Last season, Dorofeyev logged 30 points on the power play, which is tied for 14th among all NHL players. His 20 power play goals were the second-most in hockey last season, ranking only behind Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (27).
So, Dorofeyev should slot in just fine on the top power play unit. This was already a strong unit as is, which featured Fox and Zibanejad as the two focal points. Now with Dorofeyev, there's a chance the Rangers could be even better with the extra skater advantage than last season.
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