Rangers Took A Step Forward With The Pavel Dorofeyev Trade, Still Not A Playoff Team In 2026-27
After two seasons in which they were one of the biggest disappointments in the entire NHL, the New York Rangers have publicly stated they're focused on having a bounce-back season in 2026-27.
While the major acquisition they made Friday – former Vegas Golden Knights sniper Pavel Dorofeyev – will certainly help the Rangers' puny offensive attack, it's not guaranteed to elevate the Rangers into being a Stanley Cup playoff team.
Dorofeyev was an excellent player for the Golden Knights, posting a career-high 37 goals and 64 points this past season. Dorofeyev also had 12 goals and 16 points in 22 playoff games this spring. The 25-year-old Russian was clearly a salary cap casualty with Vegas, which had only $4.6-million in cap space.
What The Pavel Dorofeyev Trade Means For Direction Of Rangers' Retool
The New York Rangers made their first significant move of the offseason, acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev in exchange for the 26th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a 2026 third-round pick (92 overall), and a 2028 top-10 protected first-round pick.
The Rangers have approximately $15.6-million in salary cap space, but they do have some RFAs to re-sign, so that space is going to disappear very quickly. But you can see what Drury is hoping for with the Dorofeyev move – he's hoping the offense gets a boost; he's hoping for a better season from defenseman Adam Fox; he's hoping veterans Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller do their part; and he's hoping youngster Alexis Lafreniere takes that next competitive step and grows into a Grade-A competitor.
That said, we're not confident that all those things will come together for the Rangers. If anything, they're now closer to being a mushy middle team – not good enough to be a playoff team, but not bad enough to get a top draft pick to build around.
While Dorofeyev moves the needle for the Blueshirts' offense, we don't see him being enough on his own for the Rangers to be a playoff team.
Breaking Down NHL Draft Night Trades: Bruins Add Peterka, Rangers Get Dorofeyev, Blues Acquire McTavish
The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues added forwards in trades during the first round of the NHL draft. But those moves weren't all.
The Rangers are an organization that's very much a work-in-progress, so we have to be careful writing them off. Unfortunately, they still don't have the depth, play drivers, or creativity to be an elite team.
Drury chose not to do a full rebuild, and that might prove to be the correct course of action for this Rangers team. But they're not going to be a playoff team simply because Dorofeyev was acquired.
Indeed, the Rangers still have a considerable way to go before they're a lock to be a playoff team. It's hard to see them leaping over seven other Metro teams that finished ahead of them in the standings last season – and until they make more acquisitions that improve their overall depth, the Rangers are going to be a major underdog to do anything of positive consequence.
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This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 10:10 AM.