Rangers bolster scoring with trade for Dorofeyev

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2026-27 regular season, which starts Sept. 29. Today, the New York Rangers:

2025-26 season: 34-39-9, eighth in Metropolitan Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Pavel Dorofeyev, F: The 25-year-old was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights for the No. 26 and No. 92 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, as well as a conditional first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, on June 26 and signed a seven-year, $77 million ($11 million average annual value) contract four days later. Dorofeyev scored 37 goals and had 64 points in 82 games with the Golden Knights last season. He added 12 goals in 22 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. … Sean Durzi, D: The 27-year-old was acquired from the Utah Mammoth on July 1 along with forward prospect Cole Beaudoin and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft for center Vincent Trocheck. Durzi is expected to be New York's second-pair, right-shot defenseman. He had 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) and averaged 19:16 of ice time in 60 games with the Mammoth last season. … Marcus Pettersson, D: The 30-year-old was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on July 1 for a conditional first-round pick in the 2030 NHL Draft. Pettersson is expected to be New York's new second-pair, left-shot defenseman next to Durzi. He had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 82 games with the Canucks last season. He previously played under Rangers coach Mike Sullivan for parts of seven seasons from 2018-25, when they were both with the Pittsburgh Penguins. … Oliver Bjorkstrand, F: The 31-year-old signed a one-year contract on July 1. Bjorkstrand had 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 80 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season and was second on the team with nine power-play goals, matching his NHL high. … Joe Veleno, F: The 26-year-old signed a one-year contract on July 1. Veleno had five points (two goals, three assists) in 61 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. … Joonas Korpisalo, G: Acquired from the Boston Bruins on July 1 for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft and forward Kalle Vaisanen. Korpisalo is expected to compete with Dylan Garand to be the backup to goalie Igor Shesterkin. The 32-year-old appeared in 31 games with the Bruins last season and went 14-9-6 with one shutout, a 3.15 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.

Key departures

Vincent Trocheck, F: Traded to the Mammoth in the deal that brought Durzi to New York on July 1. Trocheck was tied for fourth on the team last season with 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) in 67 games. … Will Borgen, D: Traded to the Bruins on July 1 for a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Borgen had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 75 games last season, playing an average of 18:03 per game. … Jonathan Quick, G: The 40-year-old retired after last season, when he went 6-17-2 with a 3.09 GAA, .891 save percentage and two shutouts in 25 games (24 starts) as Shesterkin's backup. … Conor Sheary, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1. He had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 62 games last season. … Jonny Brodzinski, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals on July 1. Part of the Rangers' organization for six seasons, he had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 55 games last season. … Adam Edstrom, F: Traded to the Nashville Predators on June 27 for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and forward Massimo Rizzo. Edstrom was limited to 35 games last season because of injuries and had five points (three goals, two assists).

On the cusp

Cole Beaudoin, F: The 20-year-old center, who was acquired from Utah, was the No. 24 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Beaudoin had 88 points (33 goals, 55 assists) in 54 games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League last season. He will likely start his first professional season with Hartford of the American Hockey League. … Jaroslav Chmelar, F: The forward, who turned 23 years old on July 20, played the last 22 games of last season with the Rangers in a fourth-line role. He had six points (four goals, two assists) in that stretch from March 5 through the end of the season. Chmelar also appeared in six games earlier in the season. He is currently a favorite to make the team out of training camp. … Drew Fortescue, D: The 21-year-old had two assists in nine NHL games last season after finishing his junior season at Boston College. New York selected Fortescue in the third round (No. 90) of the 2023 NHL Draft. He is expected to start the season with Hartford of the AHL, but could earn an NHL spot with a strong training camp. … Dylan Garand, G: The 24-year-old, a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft (No. 103), appeared in three NHL games last season, going 2-0-1 with a 1.62 GAA and .948 save percentage. He also went 16-15-2 with one shutout, a 2.83 GAA and .896 save percentage in 36 AHL games with Hartford. Garand will compete with Korpisalo for the backup job. … Liam Greentree, F: New York acquired the 20-year-old center with two conditional draft picks from the Los Angeles Kings in the Artemi Panarin trade on Feb. 4. The Kings selected Greentree in the first round (No. 26) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He had 74 points (38 goals, 36 assists) in 52 games with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL last season and is expected to be a first-year pro in Hartford of the AHL to start the season. … Scott Morrow, D: The 23-year-old got into 29 games with the Rangers last season and had six assists, but he primarily played in the AHL with Hartford, where he had 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 34 games. Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes with a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft for defenseman K'Andre Miller on July 1, 2025, Morrow has appeared in 45 NHL regular-season games and has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists). The Rangers have to determine if he's ready for a full-time NHL job. … Alberts Smits, D: Selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old from Latvia played professionally in Finland and Germany last season, and competed for Team Latvia in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where he appeared in four games and had two assists. Smits signed his three-year, entry-level contract on July 15, and is expected to have a good opportunity to earn an NHL job out of training camp. … Adam Sykora, F: The 21-year-old whom New York selected in the second round (No. 63) of the 2022 NHL Draft, played in 11 games last season after being recalled from Hartford of the AHL. He scored three goals and had an assist. Sykora has played three full seasons in the AHL and could make the NHL team out of training camp given his performance at the end of last season.

What they still need

At least one more top-six forward, preferably a left wing, given their right-wing depth with Dorofeyev and Gabe Perreault. Bjorkstrand could be a third-line right wing if the Rangers are able to find another top-six right wing to join Alexis Lafreniere. 

They said it

"I'm not going to sit here and put a time on anything. The only timeline I operate on is trying to get better every single day and looking 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." -- Rangers general manager Chris Drury

EDGE stat to watch

The addition of Dorofeyev gives the Rangers an advanced stats juggernaut, particularly in terms of shooting metrics. Last season, Dorofeyev ranked in the 90th percentile or higher among forwards in high-danger shots on goal (82), high-danger goals (15), mid-range shots on goal (77), mid-range goals (10) and long-range shots on goal (23). The 25-year-old was also a standout at his position in hardest shot (93.33 mph; 93rd percentile). The Rangers had two of the top forwards in that category last season with J.T. Miller (102.58 mph; second) and Mika Zibanejad (96.39 mph; 98th percentile). -- Troy Perlowitz

Fantasy spin

Perreault had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists), six power-play points and 73 shots in 49 games as a rookie last season, including 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) and 50 shots over his final 28 games. The 21-year-old played on the first line with Zibanejad down the stretch last season and has a chance to round out a trio with Zibanejad and Dorofeyev, giving Perreault fantasy breakout potential in the late rounds of a standard draft. Perreault is a fringe top 50 player (No. 51) in the fantasy keeper and dynasty rankings, which are the top 25-and-younger players for long-term formats. -- Chris Meaney

Projected lineup

Gabe Perreault -- Mika Zibanejad -- Alexis Lafreniere

Pavel Dorofeyev -- J.T. Miller -- Oliver Bjorkstrand

Will Cuylle -- Noah Laba -- Tye Kartye

Adam Sykora -- Joe Veleno -- Jaroslav Chmelar

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Adam Fox

Marcus Pettersson -- Sean Durzi

Matthew Robertson -- Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Joonas Korpisalo