Rangers' retool going as planned with offseason additions, GM says

The New York Rangers are following the plan general manager Chris Drury laid out in the letter to the fans on Jan. 16 to get younger and faster through what they called at the time a roster retool around their core players and prospects.

There is work to do still, but the Rangers have in the past week held true to the words Drury wrote nearly six months ago.

On June 26, the Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights, bringing in a 25-year-old forward who has scored 72 goals the past two seasons; 37 last season and 35 in 2024-25.

They signed Dorofeyev, who was a restricted free agent, to a seven-year, $77 million contract, making that official Tuesday.

The Rangers traded the No. 26 and No. 92 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, and a top-10 protected first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft to Vegas, with Drury saying the acquisition price is worth it for what Dorofeyev can do for the Rangers for a long time.

"His unique skill set and his production, specifically in goals, is something we were in need of," Drury said. "We targeted him and we're thrilled to pull off the trade with Vegas."

Drury was not deterred by the fact that 54 percent of Dorofeyev's goals (20 of 37) and 46.8 percent of his points (30 of 64) came while playing on Vegas' five-forward first power-play unit with Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Mark Stone and Tomas Hertl.

"I think we've got some pretty talented players that can get him the puck as well, whether it's 5-on-5 or power play," Drury said. "The right age for us, the right production, excited to add him to our mix and I think he's going to do extremely well for us."

On Wednesday, the Rangers went about remaking their defense group, an area of priority this offseason, Drury said, so they can become a faster team coming out of their own end.

They had to part with center Vincent Trocheck to do it, trading him to the Utah Mammoth for 27-year-old right-shot defenseman Sean Durzi along with center Cole Beaudoin, who was the No. 24 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Durzi's contract has two years remaining with a $6 million average annual value. He had 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 60 games last season.

The Rangers then acquired 30-year-old left-shot defenseman Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks for a top-10 protected first-round pick in the 2030 NHL Draft. 

Pettersson, who previously played for Rangers coach Mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh, has five years remaining on his contract that has a $5.5 million AAV. More of a stay-at-home presence, Pettersson had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) and played 21:27 per game last season.

To make room for Pettersson, New York traded defenseman Will Borgen to the Boston Bruins for a second-round pick in the 2027 draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Borgen has four years remaining on a contract that has a $4.1 million AAV.

Durzi and Pettersson are likely going to make up the Rangers' second defense pair behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, who signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Rangers a year ago.

"You're looking for good fits," Drury said. "We thought 'Gavi' would be a good fit for 'Foxy' during last year's free agency period, and these two trades we certainly wanted to find guys that matched up and could complement each other in different situations. If they are together, Marcus and Sean could be a good pair."

As was the case in the Dorofeyev trade, Drury said giving up a future first-round pick for Pettersson, who the Rangers believe can help them now and for years to come, was a price worth paying.

The blow was softened by the fact that they got Beaudoin, who is two years removed from being a first-round pick, and forward Liam Greentree, the No. 26 pick in 2024 who was part of the return from the Los Angeles Kings in the Artemi Panarin trade on Feb. 4.

"We felt like we plugged some holes with not only real players that we can put on our roster that can play in key roles but also added some other picks in actual draft picks and actual prospects," Drury said.

The Rangers also signed right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand to a one-year, $4.5 million contract and center Joe Veleno to a one-year, $1.2 million contract, and they acquired goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 draft and left wing prospect Kalle Vaisanen.

Bjorkstrand, a six-time 20-goal scorer, will slot somewhere in New York's middle-six forward group. Veleno, who is known for his speed, is expected to be the fourth-line center. Korpisalo is the favorite to be the backup to No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin.

The Rangers still have work to do. 

Defenseman Braden Schneider is a restricted free agent who could sign with New York or be included in a trade that would bring back another middle-six forward, which based on the depth chart remains a need for New York.

The Rangers need to determine if defenseman Alberts Smits, the 18-year-old they selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will be NHL-ready in October, as in good enough to play in the top six.

But the plan laid out nearly six months ago is clearly in motion, and by adding Dorofeyev, Pettersson and Durzi, and subtracting Trocheck and Borgen in the past week, the Rangers are clearly executing on it. 

"I'm not going to sit here and put a time on anything," Drury said. "The only timeline I operate on is trying to get better every single day and to look at ways to get the team better every single day. We'll continue to do that. We're certainly excited to add the pieces we did. We think they're real good players and real good additions to our team, and exciting pieces as part of this retool."