NY Rangers Need To Continue Showing Patience With Pavel Dorofeyev

The New York Rangers made a blockbuster move this past offseason when they acquired winger Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights.

It cost them three draft picks, including two first-round selections, to bring him aboard. On top of that, the two sides agreed to a massive seven-year contract extension that pays him $11 million annually.

With that kind of deal, expectations were always going to be high for the goal-scoring wing. Alas, his transition to the Rangers has not gone smoothly, at least from the perspective of putting the puck into the net. He has only two goals in 12 games, a stark comparison to what he has accomplished the last two seasons with 35+ goals.

However, he has found a way to still make an impact for the team on the ice. New York and its fans have to continue exhibiting patience with him, especially because the underlying metrics have been so strong; eventually, the raw production will even out if he keeps up this level of play.

Rangers need to keep feeding Pavel Dorofeyev

“On the one hand, Pavel Dorofeyev is paid to score and his two-goal start isn’t going to cut it. On the other hand, one of the knocks on him was that he didn’t do much else but score and so far he’s showing some ability to push play forward with a 55 percent xG rate. The goals will come as long as he keeps the solid underlying play up,” as written in this week’s NHL power rankings done by Harman Dayal and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic (subscription required).

Dorofeyev scored 35 goals in the 2024-25 campaign with the Vegas Knights and followed it up with 37 last season. He has a dangerous left-handed shot and made an impact on special teams with 33 power-play goals the last two seasons combined.

There was expected to be an adjustment period since he isn’t sharing the ice with Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner any longer. But, through 12 games, he has now exhibited the same kind of finishing ability that he did with Vegas.

He has missed a few easy opportunities to bolster his goal-scoring numbers, but one consolation is that he is getting looks that should translate on the score sheet soon. Dorofeyev currently leads the Rangers with 5.7 expected goals; the next closest player on the team is Alexis Lafreniere, with 4.6, per Money Puck.

There should be some positive regression to the mean in his game. Right now, his shooting percentage is 5.4%; that would be a career-low mark by a wide margin, with his previous low being 13.4%.

As a career 14.3% shooter, some better days are certainly lying ahead. The two best Corsi For percentages, based on forward lines, for New York both include Dorofeyev.

The opportunities have been plentiful with some bad luck involved with multiple shots off the post; now he just has to get comfortable and capitalize on some chances.