Pavel Dorofeyev Ready To Emrace New Role As Rangers’ Offensive Centerpiece

With the New York Rangers, Pavel Dorofeyev is entering unfamiliar territory. 

As a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Dorofeyev emerged as an elite goal scorer over the past two seasons, recording 35 goals in the 2024-25 campaign and 37 the following season.

However, throughout his tenure in Vegas, the Golden Knights have always been a team filled with superstar talent and big-time names, including Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner. 

After being traded to the Rangers this offseason and signing a seven-year, $77 million contract, Dorofeyev is now expected to be the main driver of the Blueshirts’ offense.

That comes with a lot of pressure, something he wasn’t exposed to with the Vegas Golden Knights despite his impressive offensive production. 

The 25-year-old forward expressed his readiness to take on this new challenge during the player’s media tour. 

“If you fear that type of challenge, you just have to be a man and accept the challenge and do your best to just just be the same way,” Dorofeyev said. “I don’t have to change much.”

The Rangers have missed the playoffs two years in a row and have gone through a tremendous amount of overhaul as a team. 

The direction of the franchise has fluctuated from competing to retooling. 

While the addition of Dorofeyev shows Chris Drury’s desire to make the Rangers a younger team, it also indicates his eagerness to become competitive again and push for the playoffs as opposed to going into a prolonged rebuild. 

Dorofeyev believes in this Rangers core as currently constructed. 

“We have a great group of guys,” Dorofeyev said. “We have a lot of skill, a lot of potential, and we're gonna work hard to be good. We're gonna put that effort together.”

The Russian native instantly becomes an instrumental piece to the Rangers’ main nucleus of players featuring Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Mika Zibanejad. 

Through conversations with these players during the offseason, Dorofeyev believes he’s better equipped to fit in with his new team going into a critical training camp. 

“When I got traded, I knew them (Shesterkin and Gavrikov) before,” Dorofeyev said. “We were in touch a little bit. Not just necessarily Shesterkin and Gavrikov. I can easily talk to J.T., Mika, Lafrenière. We are all on the same page.”

Shifting into an entirely new role, Dorofeyev will have to embrace the bright lights and expectations of New York, and time will only tell if he’s prepared to take on that challenge.