Can Rangers turn Pavel Dorofeyev dream into summer reality?
Let’s start with this: there’s almost zero chance the New York Rangers acquire Pavel Dorofeyev this offseason.
The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t trading the 25-year-old forward, not that the Rangers have the assets to be an attractive trade partner anyway. And the Rangers can’t sign Dorofeyev, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, to an offer sheet unless they first re-acquire their second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, since that would be part of the compensation owed Vegas in such a case. Then there’s the likelihood Vegas moves heaven and earth to match an offer sheet anyway.
So, no, don’t expect Dorofeyev to wear the Blueshirt next season.
But just for a minute, let’s dream on Dorofeyev. If you follow me on social media, tune into the Rink Rap podcast, and/or read my content here at Forever Blueshirts, you know my obsession with Dorofeyev began long before his memorable Game 5 showing against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
First, he scored a power-play goal — his specialty — to tie the score 1-1 late in the first period, after stripping the puck from former Rangers star Chris Kreider. Then in then second, he stretched out to block a Jackson Lacombe bomb of a shot, taking the puck off the inside of his knee. It was courageous, and an example of his willingness to play both sides of the puck. Vegas coach John Tortorella touted the skilled winger’s two-way play postgame.
So, Dorofeyev missed a few shifts while receiving treatment back in the dressing room. He gutted it out, returned late in the second, and played the rest of the game. For good measure, he went to the net, perfectly positioned to bat a Jack Eichel rebound out of the air and past Lukas Dostal for the overtime winner, to give Vegas a 3-2 series lead in their best-of-7 second-round series.
The entire Dorofeyev package was on display in Game 5. Big-game player, well rounded, tough, clutch, special teams ace. Yup, he’d looked great in the Blueshirt.
A third-round steal by Vegas in the 2019 draft, Dorofeyev started slowly in the NHL before exploding the past two seasons, when he played every game for the Golden Knights. He scored 35 goals (17 on the power play) and totaled 52 points in 2024-25. This season, he led Vegas with 37 goals and was fourth with 64 points. His 20 power-play goals were second most in the NHL, behind the 27 scored by Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars.
And in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, Dorofeyev is tied for the League lead with seven goals in 11 postseason games.
Pavel Dorofeyev fits what Rangers need, but unlikely they can get him
Rangers general manager Chris Drury let it be known that he’s hunting for young studs in their NHL prime, or about to get there, as well as skilled players who are almost NHL ready, to kickstart their retool. Younger, faster, hungrier. That’s what the Rangers need as they to transition to the next phase.
Liam Greentree, acquired in the Artemi Panarin trade with the Los Angeles Kings in February, is an example from the latter category, a top prospect who, at age 20, is just about NHL ready.
Dorofeyev is as good an example of whom the Rangers should target from that first category.
And the reason why we even mention his name here, outside of it’s a nice daydream, is that the Golden Knights are up against the salary cap, already have other holes to fill in the offseason, and most definitely want to re-sign defenseman Rasmus Andersson, a pending UFA they acquired before the NHL Trade Deadline from the Calgary Flames.
That makes targeting Dorofeyev with a sizeable — perhaps massive — offer sheet at least a plausible option for the Rangers, who have roughly $26.575 million in available cap space this offseason, per PuckPedia. And nowhere worthy to spend some of that cash considering the UFA market is dried up with Eichel, Panarin, Connor McDavid, Martin Necas, and Kyle Connor among the stars that already re-signed with their current teams.
So, get creative Rangers.
But significant obstacles stand in the way, not the least of which is that Golden Knights management is adept and experienced at cap management, in order to keep or acquire the players they most desire.
“They’ve been in this rodeo before. [The Golden Knights] will find a way to keep that kid. They’re not letting him get away,” a former NHL executive told Forever Blueshirts.
Then there’s that second-round pick the Rangers traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Reilly Smith before the 2024-25 season. If the Rangers extend an offer sheet with an average annual value more than $7,020,114, they need their own second-round pick in 2027 as part of the compensation, which includes varying other picks that the Blueshirts do have. They could do a work-around by having the AAV come up just short of that figure, meaning that compensation would be a first- and third-round pick in 2027. However, the lower AAV just makes it easier for the Golden Knights to match.
“I can’t imagine this happening,” added the exec. “But maybe the Rangers can work some magic here.”
Maybe. Perhaps. Unlikely.
But that is a pretty darn good dream.
