Pavel Dorofeyev and Mike Sullivan now start together in New York after the Rangers moved fast to lock in their newest scorer.
Chris Drury did not wait on this one. Four days after trading for Dorofeyev from Vegas, the Rangers signed him to a 7-year contract and made it clear this was never meant to be a short stop.
That is the strongest angle here. New York did not pay a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a conditional first-round pick just to take a look. It paid that price, then followed it with long term.
Dorofeyev is coming off the kind of season that makes a bet like that easy to understand. He played all 82 games, scored 37 goals, added 27 assists, and finished with 64 points.
The power-play damage jumps off the page too. His 20 power-play goals ranked second in the NHL, and he led Vegas in goals, power-play goals, and power-play points.
Then he kept rolling in the playoffs. Dorofeyev put up 12 goals and 16 points in 22 postseason games during Vegas' run to the Stanley Cup Final.
That matters for a Rangers team that needed more finish and more danger around its top six. Sullivan is not getting a project here. He is getting a winger who just showed he can score in volume and do it under pressure.
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The biggest contract of the offseason so far has just been signed
Dorofeyev is 25, not 21, and that is part of why this deal stands out. The Rangers are not paying on pure draft hype. They are paying after a breakout that already happened.
His longer track backs that up. Across 231 NHL games, all with Vegas before the trade, Dorofeyev scored 92 goals and recorded 149 points. Since 2022-23, he ranked second among Golden Knights skaters in goals.
" #NYR make the Pavel Dorofeyev contract official. He's ineligible for trade protection in the first two years, but I'm told a full NMC will kick in 2028-29 and modify to a partial no-trade list toward the end of the deal. "
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That is real output, and it fits what New York has been chasing. A scorer who can help the power play, shoot a lot, and finish without needing every shift hand-held. Dorofeyev had 230 shots last season, second on Vegas.
There is pressure attached to it, no question. When you trade major picks and then hand out 7 years, the player has to stay near this level. But the Rangers clearly believe this is the start of his prime, not the peak already passing.
And that is why this lands as a major New York move. Pavel Dorofeyev was not brought in to fill space. He was brought in to score, stay, and become a real part of what Mike Sullivan is building with the Rangers.
Did the Rangers make the right long-term bet on Pavel Dorofeyev?
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