NY Rangers Took Full Advantage of Golden Knights Salary Crunch

The New York Rangers made a shrewd move acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Jun 1, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) looks on during the practice during media day for the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the advantages that the New York Rangers had over other teams around the NHL heading into the offseason was their salary cap space.

With nearly $30 million to use, team president and general manager Chris Drury had some maneuverability for basically the first time. With so many free agents agreeing to deals with their respective teams before hitting the market, unrestricted free agency was lacking many impact options.

Given how much money the Rangers had to spend, it was up to Drury to get creative with spending it, and that is exactly what he did. Right before the team was on the clock at No. 5 in the 2026 NHL Draft, it was announced that they had completed a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.

New York acquired the rights to Pavel Dorofeyev in exchange for the Nos. 26 and 92 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional first-round pick in 2028 that is top-10 protected. It was a shrewd move by Drury, who took full advantage of the salary cap crunch the Golden Knights were facing.

Rangers took full advantage of Golden Knights cap situation

Jun 2, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon answers questions to the press during media day in advance of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. / USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Dorofeyev wasn’t someone the team wanted to move on from, but at the end of the day, the NHL is a business. Operating with virtually no salary cap space, trading Dorofeyev became their only avenue because they didn’t have the funds to pay him what he was worth.

He quickly agreed to a seven-year extension with the Rangers that pays $11 million annually. That is a massive raise for a player who made less than $2 million this past season.

“From a team standpoint, this is the business of hockey. Pav was making I think 1.9 million with us last year. He’s now going to be making $11 million a season for seven more years. It’s well earned, but it just puts us in a situation where it can’t be accommodated here,” said Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon after completing the trade with New York.

A restricted free agent, the Golden Knights quickly realized that retaining Dorofeyev was going to be virtually impossible. Unless they were able to unload multiple players to clear extra cap space, they ran the risk of losing him for nothing if a team signed him to an offer sheet.

Kelly McCrimmon on the trade that sent Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers:

“From a team standpoint, this is the business of hockey. Pav was making I think 1.9 million with us last year. He’s now going to be making $11 million a season for seven more years. It’s well… pic.twitter.com/0L6ovPdV61

— Pro Hockey West Report (@ProHockey_WEST) June 28, 2026

Instead of that occurring, they swung a trade with the Rangers, getting back some draft capital. For a team in the position that New York was, coming off a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference, trading three picks can certainly be viewed as a bad move.

However, Dorofeyev addresses their need for a top-six forward. He has recorded back-to-back seasons of 35+ goals and will provide a major jolt to the team’s offense. It will be interesting to see how he performs without Jack Eichel, but Dorofeyev has more playmaking ability to unlock than some people give him credit for.

It was a great move by New York, adding another long-term building block to the mix alongside Albert Smits, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.