Rangers acquire Pavel Dorofeyev from Golden Knights in draft-night blockbuster

The Rangers added a young premier talent during the NHL draft, and they also made their fifth overall selection. 

Dealing the Nos. 26 and 92 picks they would have made over Friday and Saturday to Vegas, as well as a top 10 protected first-rounder in 2028, the Blueshirts acquired a high-end goal scorer in Pavel Dorofeyev and subsequently locked the 25-year-old restricted free agent into a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $11 million. 

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Dorofeyev is one of just 12 NHL players to score 35-plus goals in each of the last two seasons, a testament to his ability to bring production to the Rangers top six and power play. 

The move came after an offer the Rangers put in for the Ducks’ Mason McTavish lost traction as the first round of the draft approached Friday. It reportedly was one of two offers, and St. Louis ultimately landed the 23-year-old center in exchange for the Nos. 15 and 29 picks. 

President and general manager Chris Drury continues to seek ways to add youth and skill to the Rangers lineup. 

Dorofeyev is exactly the type of player Drury assured he would target in the Letter 2.0. 

Coming off a career-best season in which he recorded 37 goals and 64 points, Dorofeyev played a key role in Vegas reaching the Stanley Cup Final this season. The left wing’s impact carried over into the playoffs, where his 12 goals in 22 games were second only to Brett Howden (14). 

After breaking out during the 2024-25 season with 35 goals, the Russian sharpshooter has been Vegas’ leading goal scorer in each of the last two campaigns. The 20 power-play goals he scored last season were also good for the second most in the NHL. 

Before acquiring Dorofeyev and selecting left-handed defenseman Alberts Šmits fifth overall, the Rangers started their draft day with a prospect swap. 

Pending restricted free agent Brett Berard was traded to Montreal in exchange for defenseman William Trudeau. 

Trudeau, 23, is a 2021 fourth-round pick who has spent the last four seasons in the AHL. The left-handed blueliner has yet to make his NHL debut. 

A fifth-round pick in 2020 (134th overall) under the Jeff Gorton regime, Berard appeared in 48 games for the Rangers over the last two seasons. Despite an encouraging 2024-25 campaign in which he posted six goals and 10 points in 35 games with the Rangers, Berard was the last cut from training camp this past season. 

After returning from the Rangers team bonding trip in Rhode Island to a Hartford assignment, Berard went without a goal through his first 14 games of the AHL season. When he was recalled by the Rangers at the end of November, Berard didn’t do much with his opportunity. 

The 23-year-old wasn’t able to record a single point through 13 games. 

Montreal drafted Trudeau 113th overall out of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, where the young Canadian collected 90 points (20 goals, 70 assists) over three seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders. 

The Rangers are pleased with the forward prospects who emerged as options despite the lost 2025-26 season. Berard had fallen down the depth chart amid strong showings from Gabe Perreault, Noah Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora. 

Acquiring Dorofeyev and trading Berard were moves that threaded the needle on Drury’s initiative to reshape the roster and prospect pool. 

And the Rangers did it without forfeiting the chance to draft Šmits.