The New York Rangers, looking to add a legitimate scorer this offseason, sent the first round of the NHL Draft into a whirlwind. Minutes before they were set to pick fifth in the first round, the Rangers traded their 2026 (No. 26 overall) and 2028 first-round picks to the Vegas Golden Knights for winger Pavel Dorofeyev. After that, the Rangers signed Dorofeyev to a lucrative seven-year, $77 million contract, as he was a restricted free agent at the time of the trade.
Dorofeyev has high expectations placed on him, not just because of his huge contract. He is also expected to produce similarly as he did with the star-studded Golden Knights. After all, he is effectively replacing Artemi Panarin, who was their top scorer for years since signing with the team in 2019. If Dorofeyev doesn't live up to the expectations and contract, Rangers fans will let him hear it.
Even though he's been with the team for a couple of months, he already has chemistry on the Rangers.
Pavel Dorofeyev already has chemistry with Rangers teammates before playing first game
Dorofeyev was in Las Vegas for the NHL Media Tour. While speaking with The Hockey News, the winger revealed that he began talking with his new Rangers teammates as soon as the trade went through, and that they already have chemistry.
“When I got traded, I knew them (Shesterkin and Gavrikov) before,” Dorofeyev said. “We were in touch a little bit. Not just necessarily Shesterkin and Gavrikov. I can easily talk to J.T., Mika, Lafreniere. We are all on the same page.”
For fans, team chemistry is everything. This is a Rangers team that made a variety of moves that can be considered gambles, and they need to hit on all of them. As great as Dorofeyev has been in Vegas, giving up multiple first-rounders and signing him to an $11 million per year contract, fans want to see the results. The fact that he's "on the same page" with his teammates is a plus.
Dorofeyev says he already knew goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov before the trade. But he also talked to potential linemates in J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, depending on where head coach Mike Sullivan wants to put them. Those are the names you want to hear from Dorofeyev in terms of chemistry, since they're likely to all be on the ice at the same time.
Pavel Dorofeyev has already embraced star role on Rangers
Dorofeyev is not naive to the situation he is entering. He is on a team that fell off a proverbial cliff after the 2024 Eastern Conference Final all the way to last place this past season. He is expected to be the star scorer on the roster to show the fanbase and critics that the retool was the right direction to go in. Dorofeyev said so in the interview, saying he doesn't have to change much to his game. Not only that, but he believes this is a team with potential.
“We have a great group of guys,” Dorofeyev told The Hockey News. “We have a lot of skill, a lot of potential, and we're gonna work hard to be good. We're gonna put that effort together.”
Dorofeyev has shown that he can not only put up 35 or more goals in a season, but also that he can thrive when the lights shine brightest — the playoffs. During the Golden Knights' run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Dorofeyev scored 12 goals, five of which were on the power play (league-leading). That is what the Rangers desperately needed entering this offseason.
Yes, the Rangers moved on from Panarin, which was always going to sting. But, it was evident that Drury did not have Panarin in his plans for the future. Before that, the team moved on from Chris Kreider, who had the third-most regular season goals and most playoff goals in Rangers history. It was always going to be difficult to replace Kreider, especially as he had built chemistry with Zibanejad over the years.
Rangers fans are undoubtedly going to be seeking out every update from Dorofeyev and where he lines up throughout training camp. We'll see if the familiarity he built with the team this offseason can yield immediate results in the regular season.
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