8:32PM: Dorofeyev has signed a 7-year extension worth $11 million per season. (LeBrun)
7:30PM: The Rangers are acquiring pending RFA winger Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas.
The Rangers are trading pick 26, pick 92 and a top-1o protected pick in 2028.
Dorofeyev, 25, has scored over 30 goals the past two seasons. He has 92 goals and 57 assists in 231 career games.
33 of his 72 goals came on the PP.
He had 12 goals and 4 assists in 22 playoff games for Vegas. He was a third round pick in 2019.
Adam Rotter: That is quite a big move for the Rangers. Dorofeyev has been one of the top goal scorers the last couple of years and he is a big-time talent as the Rangers effort to replace Artemi Panarin. He is much more of a shooter/scorer than overall offensive player that Panarin is, but it’s a big move. The cost is not terrible. They were likely going to take a forward at 26 and 92 was the fourth of the Rangers four third round picks. The 2028 first round pick always carries some risk but the top-10 protection does give them some cover. That said, if the Rangers are still picking in the top-10 in 2028 then I’m guessing that Chris Drury won’t be the one making the pick.
The reason that Vegas is trading him is because they are in a cap crunch and Dorofeyev is likely going to cost upwards of $10 million $11 million per season. The Rangers have the cap space to pay him close to $10 million $11 million per season but the cap is going up and so are player salaries. It’s going to seem like a lot for now but Alex Tuch, who is five years older and was about to be a UFA, is getting $10.5 million per season. Dorofeyev has scored three more goals over the last two season than Tuch but Tuch is a more established player. Still, it’s a good move to get a player who is hopefully going to continue scoring at least 30 goals per season and not taking anyone off the roster.