On the same night they selected defenseman Alberts Smits with the number five overall pick, the Rangers made a blockbuster trade with the Golden Knights by acquiring scoring forward Pavel Dorofeyev.

Before they even selected Smits, ESPN hockey insider Emily Kaplan broke the story. In order to get a proven goalscorer like the 25-year-old Dorofeyev, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury gave up the Rangers 26th pick and 92nd (third round), along with a conditional 2028 first round pick (top 10 protected).

After scoring a career-high 37 goals along with achieving new personal bests in assists (27) and points (64), Dorofeyev ranked second in goals on Vegas this postseason with 12. Seven came at even-strength with the other five coming on the power play. During the Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals, he finished with 16 points to rank fifth in team scoring.

A player with a shoot first mentality, the former Vegas 2019 third round pick paced the Knights in goals (37), power-play goals (20), and power-play points (30) this past season. The 37 goals and 20 power-play goals would’ve ranked ahead of Rangers’ team leader Mika Zibanejad, who paced them in goals (34) and power-play goals (16).

The Rangers desperately needed a finisher in the top six. It was an area that I mentioned in a previous post. Now, there won’t be as much pressure on Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault next season. The same goes for Will Cuylle, who enters the final year of his deal with a $3.9 million cap hit. However, all three must produce enough to provide support for Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and the newest Ranger Dorofeyev.

In addition to dealing for him, the Rangers immediately signed Dorofeyev to a whopping $11 million AAV over seven years. That makes him the second highest paid Ranger on the roster, trailing only Igor Shesterkin ($11.56 million AAV). Similar to former Blueshirt Artemi Panarin, Dorofeyev’s Russian. Unlike Panarin, he isn’t going to draw as much attention. He’s a finisher who must deliver 35 to 40 goals a year to earn his money.

Unlike the situation he had in Vegas, he won’t have Jack Eichel or Mitch Marner setting him up. That responsibility will likely fall on Zibanejad and Adam Fox. Interestingly, Miller had 36 assists in a down year. Lafreniere set a new career-high with 33 apples. Perreault is a good distributor due to his vision. Perhaps he could complement Dorofeyev on a scoring line.

Regardless, it’s nice to see Drury address a team need by adding a younger player that’s in their prime. There’s still some business to take care of. Neither Vincent Trocheck nor Braden Schneider got moved on Friday night.

The Rangers were in discussions with the Ducks for center Mason McTavish. They offered a roster player and a pick for the 23-year-old. However, the Blues were willing to pay more of a premium by parting with two first round picks (15 and 29) to acquire McTavish. He fell out of favor in Anaheim under head coach Joel Quenneville, who even sat him out in two games during the postseason.

Considering that McTavish struggled with consistency after signing a long-term deal last summer worth a $7 million AAV, it was wiser for Drury to lose the sweepstakes for a player who isn’t the best skater. Maybe he’s better off in St. Louis. They’ve already shaken things up by trading Jordan Kyrou to the Capitals for Connor McMichael, Milton Gastrin, and a 2026 number 16 pick. The Blues went off the board to take Maddox Dagenais.

For the Rangers, there’s a lot more ahead. If it’s really a retool, there should be another big move coming. Considering how much his name continues to get mentioned, you have to think Trocheck will be moving pretty soon. The question is whether Drury can get a good return. He failed to acquire a 2026 first round pick along with a good prospect. It feels like he already made a mess out of asset management for Trocheck. There’s still time to correct it.

Currently, the Rangers still have over $14 million in cap space. Having recently re-signed Dylan Garand to a two-year contract worth $875,000 AAV, they have two restricted free agents left. Schneider is the big one. Are they going to keep him or move on? Will they qualify and re-sign Vincent Iorio?

Whatever they decide to do, there still should be room on the cap.