The New York Rangers made a massive investment in Pavel Dorofeyev. Beyond the acquisition cost for his rights as an RFA, the club inked him to a seven-year, $77 million contract.
That type of money is not the kind you find under couch cushions. The organization is banking on the 25-year-old shattering his career-highs and becoming a 40-goal scorer.
The potential is there. But Dorofeyev will also need the Rangers to build the right environment for him. That environment requires the team to pair him with a solid, playmaking center.
For a while, it seemed like the Dorofeyev trade would lead the organization to keep Vincent Trocheck. That didn’t happen, of course, as Trocheck was traded to the Utah Mammoth.
So, it pretty much leaves Mika Zibanejad as Dorofeyev’s running mate. Zibanejad is a fine choice. But he’ll need to rekindle the play that once made him a top-line center. If the 33-year-old can’t really mesh with Dorofeyev, Chris Drury will be in trouble.
If Zibanejad and Dorofeyev can’t really come together, the Rangers may have no choice but to target a playmaking center. Unfortunately, the Rangers will have to get in line with just about every other team in the NHL. Pretty much every club is looking for a talented, top-six center.
If the Blueshirts can’t find a solid center, they may have to find an alternative.
Rangers could solve issues with a winger
One of the workarounds could be finding a decent winger to play on the same line as Dorofeyev. A creative winger could give Dorofeyev the scoring chances that Jack Eichel created for him in Vegas.
And that’s just the thing. The Russian sniper’s success came while playing with someone like Jack Eichel. Eichel won’t be in New York, as much as Rangers fans would like him to, potentially leading to a drop off in Dorofeyev’s production.
That puts extra pressure on the organization to find the right fit for Dorofeyev this upcoming season. Otherwise, lacking the ideal complementary piece could lead to a decline in Dorofeyev’s production.
There’s a good chance that Mike Sullivan will try just about every combination he can think of at training camp this fall. If things fall into place, Rangers fans will have one less thing to worry about.
If they don’t, fans shouldn’t be surprised to hear chatter picking up about the Rangers looking for another center, specifically to play with Dorofeyev.
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