Vegas Golden Knights
Golden Knights Explain Dorofeyev Trade, Now How Do They Replace Him?
The Vegas Golden Knights traded Pavel Dorofeyev and GM Kelly McCrimmon explained why. The question now is, how do they replace him?
The Golden Knights acquired the 26th-overall & 92nd-overall picks in the 2026 NHL Draft as well as a 2028 first-round selection from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Pavel Dorofeyev on Friday. It was a huge trade that seemingly came out of nowhere. Immediately after landing Dorofeyev, the Rangers signed him to a seven-year $11M AAV deal.
It was a splash by the Rangers and a shock that the Golden Knights would trade such a key part of their offense.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon explained why he made the deal on Saturday.
“For Pav, we’re tremendously proud of him… In the last two years, he really blossomed with more opportunity. He was a 37-goal scorer this past year, 12 more in the playoffs, and 35 goals the previous year. We wish him the very best. I think he’s gonna do great with his new opportunity in New York.”
McCrimmon added, “From a team standpoint, this is the business of hockey. And 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, and it’s well earned, but it just puts us in a situation where it can’t be accommodated here. We love the player, and he was really, really important for us, but we needed to take the opportunity to work on getting cap compliant, and he was part of how we did that.”
Dorofeyev led Vegas in goals the past two seasons, with 72. And this past postseason, when the Golden Knights lost in the Stanley Cup Final, he had 12 goals and 16 points in 22 games. He will instantly add more offense to the Rangers, who were looking to find goals this summer.
For the Golden Knights, they’ve lost a major contributor and will have to find a way to replace him, but at a fraction of the cost. They have roughly $12.55 million to fill four roster spots. Likely in that mix is Rasmus Andersson, who could land in the $7 – $9 million per season range. This means, without another move to clear cap space, acquiring someone like Dylan Larkin to replace the production is going to be a challenge.
Someone like Jason Robertson? Forget it unless around $10 million goes back in the deal. He wants $15 million per season.
But, Vegas is Vegas and the Golden Knights are the Golden Knights. They find ways to add and players rarely shy away from the opportunity to join their roster. If there’s a good player in the NHL that is looking for a fresh start or a new home, the Golden Knights are almost always on their list.
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