New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury took a risk this past offseason by going for a retool instead of a full-on rebuild. Drury's biggest transaction was acquiring winger Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights, and signing him to a seven-year, $77 million contract. The expectation was that Dorofeyev would be the Rangers' top scoring option for the foreseeable future.
Through seven games, the Rangers are 5-2-0 on the season, good enough for second place in the Metropolitan Division. This comes even with superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin out for the rest of the campaign.
When it comes to Dorofeyev, he hasn't exactly been lighting up the stat sheets during his time with the team. Through those seven games, Dorofeyev has one goal and two assists. It's incredibly early in the season, but Rangers fans were probably expecting him to be a point a game player. However, that hasn't transpired just yet.
No, it's not time for Rangers fans to panic about Dorofeyev.
Pavel Dorofeyev isn't feeling the pressure in midst of goal drought with Rangers
Dorofeyev's lone goal with the Rangers arrived in their home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, where they won 5-2, with the winger putting up five shots.
Recently, head coach Mike Sullivan moved Dorofeyev up to the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault in an effort to provide some sort of a spark. Sullivan also moved Dorofeyev off of the top power play unit in Sunday's game against the Vancouver Canucks in favor of Perreault. Sullivan said he made the move because he thought Dorofeyev was "fighting it a little bit."
While speaking with The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano, Dorofeyev said he wasn't feeling any pressure for going on a five-game goal-less streak,
"I'm not focused on that stuff at all. Just trying to be myself and trying to to help the team win the games," said Dorofeyev. "Sometimes you just have to play another way. It's not always (about) the goals."
It ay only be a matter of time until Pavel Dorofeyev breaks through for Rangers
Again, there is still a ton of season left for Dorofeyev to catch on fire and help the Rangers pick up some wins. The pressure is high due to his lucrative contract, and the fact that they don't have Igor Shesterkin in net for the rest of the season due to a right knee injury.
If there's one thing about Dorofeyev, is that he has been aggressive in scoring chances. This season, Dorofeyev leads the team with shots with 24, with Will Cuylle holding the second-most with 18. Additionally, Dorofeyev has had eight high danger scoring chances, which ranks in the 97th percentile, according to NHL EDGE stats. Hes' getting his chances, but it's just not resulting in goals. His linemates in J.T. Miller, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Tye Kartye have succeeded on the second line, so it's not like Dorofeyev's chances are all for naught.
Before Tuesday's game against the Lightning, Dorofeyev will remain on the same line as Zibanejad and Perreault, but he'll also be back on the top power play unit.
Yes, it's surprising that Dorofeyev hasn't been putting up a point a game like he is being paid to do. But, let's not forget that he is adjusting to his new team after spending the entirety of his young career with the Golden Knights. With the more reps he receives, Dorofeyev should break through for the Rangers, and then the goals will arrive at a higher rate than it is currently.
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