NY Rangers Changing Pavel Dorofeyev Role To Unlock Him

The New York Rangers went into the offseason seeking some offensive upgrades for their lineup, and one player they landed on was Pavel Dorofeyev.

With the Vegas Golden Knights, Dorofeyev has been one of the most productive goal scorers in the NHL. He recorded back-to-back seasons of 35+ goals and was a real weapon on the power play with 20 last season.

The Rangers paid a premium to bring him aboard, sending three picks to the Golden Knights, including two first-rounders. Upon acquiring him, New York agreed to a seven-year extension worth $11 million annually.

With that kind of contract, expectations are incredibly high. Unfortunately for Dorofeyev, he has not provided the kind of impact the team had hoped for. Looking to get him on track, head coach Mike Sullivan is changing the role of his struggling winger.

Rangers making change to get Pavel Dorofeyev on track

Over the last two games, Dorofeyev was moved to the second power-play unit, with Gabe Perreault being elevated to the first unit. Now, another change is being made. Dorofeyev is back with the first line, but in a different position.

Before the line change, he was operating on the right flank. During practice ahead of their game against the New Jersey Devils, Dorofeyev was playing the bumper spot, with the belief that his wicked left-handed shot would be better utilized there.

“The question that I’m trying to answer, and this is the discussion the coaching staff had is: How do we maximize Pav’s greatest attribute, which is his scoring ability?” the head coach said, via Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (subscription required). “We started him on the flank, and obviously, one-timers are available there on the elbows of the umbrella. He played that position when he was in Vegas also, but this is a different power play than what he’s been used to.

“So, we’re going through a little bit of an exploration process.”

There have been some tough breaks for Dorofeyev, such as a one-timer against the Vancouver Canucks that goalie Kevin Lankinen made a great save on with his blocker, stretching as far as he could across the crease.

A goal there, and it is hard to envision Sullivan pulling him off the first power-play unit. The same sentiment can be shared when he made a nice cross-ice pass to Alexis Lafreniere, who was making a run at the net.

The pass got there, but the shot went awry. And it led to the Canucks turning their penalty kill into an offensive opportunity, with defenseman Elias Pettersson countering with a short-handed goal.

Sooner or later, plays like that will turn in Dorofeyev’s favor. A six-game scoreless streak occurring in the middle of the season normally wouldn’t draw much attention, but because it is still early in his tenure with a new team, the struggles are weighing a little more.