It’s official: Rangers sign Dorofeyev for seven years, $77 million
The New York Rangers made it official on Tuesday, signing recently acquired forward Pavel Dorofeyev to a seven-year contract. The team didn’t release salary figures, but multiple media reports said it’s worth $77 million, an average annual value of $11 million.
The Rangers acquired Dorofeyev, who could have become a restricted free agent on Wednesday, in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. They gave first-round (No. 26) and third-round (No. 92) picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and a top-10 protected first-rounder in 2028 to the Golden Knights.
In return, they got a 25-year-old who set NHL career highs in goals (37), assists (27) and points (64) in 82 games for the Golden Knights this season. He was second in the NHL with 20 power-play goals. Dorofeyev also had 16 points (12 goals, four assists) in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Vegas advance to the Cup Final.
Dorofeyev has a no-movement clause that begins in 2028-29 and runs through the 2032-33 season according to PuckPedia, meaning the Rangers can’t send him to the minors. He also has a modified no-trade clause in the final two seasons (15 teams in 2031-32; 10 teams in 2032-33).
It’s a big price tag that includes $35 million in signing bonuses ($13 million in 2026-27), but young, goal-scoring forwards don’t come cheap.
Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Dorofeyev is tied for second in the NHL in power-play goals with 33 (Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnston is tops with 38). During that span, Dorofeyev and Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat are the only players with at least 65 goals, 25 power-play goals and 450 shots on goal.
Selected by the Golden Knights in the third round (No. 79) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Dorofeyev has 149 points (92 goals, 57 assists) in 231 regular-season games, and 18 points (13 goals, five assists) in 31 playoff games. He scored 35 goals in 2024-25, then topped that number this season.
He’s also one of 11 players to score at least 35 in each of the past two seasons. The Rangers have not had a player with consecutive 35-goal seasons before turning 26 years old since Adam Graves (36 in 1992-93; 52 in 1993-94).
Rangers sign Dorofeyev to seven-year, $77 million contract
New York (34-39-9) missed the playoffs for the second straight season after finishing last in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers finished 23rd in goals per game this season (2.87) during Mike Sullivan’s first season as coach and struggled badly at home (14-20-7 record); only the Vancouver Canucks had fewer home wins (nine).
The Blueshirts, who dealt with injuries to starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox, were shut out 10 times last season, the most in the NHL.
However, the Dorofeyev trade, coupled with the Rangers’ other elite players staying healthy, could help them get back into the playoff conversation in the Metropolitan Division behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Dorofeyev is now the highest-paid skater on the Rangers roster — in essence replacing Artemi Panarin in that area, as well as (likely) on the top line. The Rangers traded Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings last February, to kickstart this retool that now has Dorofeyev front and center of the new-look Blueshirts. Only Shesterkin ($11.56 million AAV) makes more than Dorofeyev.
Adding Dorofeyev presents coach Mike Sullivan with some interesting options. He could put him on the top line with center Mika Zibanejad, the team scoring leader with 34 goals and 78 points, and either Alexis Lafreniere or Gabe Perreault. Or Sullivan could keep the Zibanejad-Lafreniere-Perreault trio together and put his new forward on a line centered by J.T. Miller.
The Rangers still have roughly $15.7 million in cap space heading into the start of free agency on Wednesday. They could add to that number by dealing veteran center Vincent Trocheck, which almost happened at the NHL Trade Deadline in March and that many around the league still expect to take place at some point this summer.
Dorofeyev’s $11 million AAV represents about 10.6 percent of the NHL’s $104 million cap ceiling for the 2026-27 season, but that number will shrink with each passing year as the cap continues to rise.
