Rangers trade for Dorofeyev all about ‘business of hockey’: Vegas GM
So many recent trades involving the New York Rangers were made because they needed to create more room under the salary cap. Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider, and K’Andre Miller are such examples of players shipped out by the Rangers the past couple years, largely due to financial reasons.
But for the first time in a long time, the Rangers have significant cap space this offseason, and they used it to their advantage in a big way Friday. The shoe was on the other foot, as they say, when the Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for three draft picks, including the No. 26 overall selection in the first round this year.
It’s a trade that Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon didn’t want to make. But he had little choice with Dorofeyev, who led Vegas with 37 goals this past season and 35 in 2024-25. The 25-year-old was due a sizeable raise as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, and Vegas simply didn’t have the money to re-sign the stud wing.
The Rangers ultimately signed Dorofeyev to a seven-year, $77 million contract after consummating the trade.
“This is the business of hockey,” McCrimmon explained this past weekend. “[Dorofeyev] was making $1.9 [million] with us last year. He’s now going to be making $11 million per season for seven more years, and it’s well earned but it puts us in a situation where it can’t be accommodated here.”
Instead, the Golden Knights accrued much-needed draft capital. They entered the draft Friday without a first-round pick until 2028. They not only landed one this year from the Rangers, but they secured a second first-rounder for the 2028 draft.
“For the organization, which has been focused on winning and competing every year, you eventually wear down your draft capital,” McCrimmon said. “This was a chance for us to address that and put some picks back into our system.”
Vegas GM ‘loves’ Pavel Dorofeyev, believes forward ‘going to do great’ with Rangers
The NHL salary cap for the 2026-27 season is going up to $104 million. But even that wasn’t enough for the Golden Knights to fit Dorofeyev moving forward, especially since they still need to sign UFA defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
The Golden Knights already have almost $100 million committed to just 15 players, including only nine forwards and four defensemen. Plus, 11 of those 15 players have some form of trade or movement protection, including now-backup goalie Adin Hill (10-team no-trade list) and 34-year-old captain Mark Stone (full no-movement clause).
McCrimmon said he spoke with Dorofeyev’s agents and that the asking price simply was too rich for Vegas. So, McCrimmon had to swallow hard and move on from a player who scored 12 goals in the just-completed postseason and helped the Golden Knights reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We love the player. He was really, really important for us, but we needed to take the opportunity to getting our cap compliant, and he was part of how we did that,” McCrimmon said. “We wish him the very best. I think he’s going to do great with his new opportunity in New York.”
Rangers GM Chris Drury deserves high marks for weaponizing his cap space and draft capital, and taking advantage of Vegas’ tough situation. It appears that even McCrimmon agrees with that assessment.
