The New York Rangers acquired winger Pavel Dorofeyev in a draft-night trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The Golden Knights received the No. 26 pick in this year’s draft, as well as No. 92 in the third round and a conditional 2028 first-rounder (top-10 protected) in the deal.
Dorofeyev, who was a restricted free agent, then signed a seven-year extension worth $11 million annually, league sources told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deal isn’t finalized.
Dorofeyev is coming off a highly productive season in which he scored 37 goals and 64 points for the Golden Knights. He followed that up with 12 goals during the playoffs, which ended with a 4-2 series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final.
Dorofeyev was Vegas’ leading goal scorer in each of the last two seasons. The 25-year-old sharpshooter broke out in 2024-25 with 35 goals, and followed it up with a 37-goal campaign this past season. Dorofeyev does most of his damage with the man advantage; he finished second in the NHL with 20 power-play goals.
After a slow start to the postseason, Dorofeyev scored 12 goals for the Golden Knights on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. That included a hat trick in Game 5 of Vegas’ first-round series against the Utah Mammoth, and a spectacular overtime winner in Game 5 of the second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Golden Knights drafted the Russian winger in the third round in 2019, and he has developed into an excellent finisher with a deceptive release. His contract, which carried only a $1.835 million cap hit, expired at the end of this season. Vegas is already short on cap space, and still needs to find a deal for free agent defenseman Rasmus Andersson, so it opted to deal Dorofeyev to New York.
Dorofeyev gives the Rangers another top-six winger, and should help what was already a top-five power play unit in 2025-26. He’s not the fastest skater and hasn’t driven his own offense at even strength, but has great hockey sense to find open ice in the offensive zone and a fantastic finishing rate.
With the trade, the Golden Knights added two valuable draft picks to their relatively bare cupboard of draft selections. Vegas now has a selection in Friday’s first round, and adds a second first-round selection to the 2028 draft. The club doesn’t have a first-round pick in 2027.
Why the Rangers wanted Dorofeyev
The Rangers have taken a few big swings this offseason and connected on one by acquiring Dorofeyev.
He checks several boxes for a team that’s in dire need of young scoring talent.
It cost New York three draft picks to complete the deal, including two first-rounders, but getting it done without surrendering No. 5 overall allowed team president Chris Drury to snag defenseman prospect Alberts Šmits shortly after the Dorofeyev trade news broke.
In a matter of minutes, the Rangers added two building blocks to a roster that’s been lacking them in recent years. Dorofeyev will join fellow 25-and-under forwards Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault in a top six that suddenly has a jolt of offensive potential.
New York had ample salary cap space to fit him, with a projection of $25.7 million available prior to the signing, according to PuckPedia. — Mercogliano