Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon explained why he traded star winger Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers.
On Friday night at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, the Golden Knights made a blockbuster trade with the Rangers, sending Dorofeyev to New York for two first-round picks and a third-round pick. The Rangers then immediately signed the player to a seven-year, $77 million contract.
Kelly McCrimmon Explains Pavel Dorofeyev Trade
Speaking to reporters following the conclusion of the NHL draft, McCrimmon explained his thought process in trading away the team’s leading goal scorer this past season.
In the end, McCrimmon said it simply came down to money, as the team couldn’t fit Dorofeyev’s next contract into their cap sheet, though the GM was happy to see the player get the bag.
“For Pav, we’re tremendously proud of him. He was a draft choice of our team, a third-round pick in 2019. He came from Russia. He played parts of three seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights in the American League, so they’ve been a big part of his development. And then, of course, with the VGK the last three years, and it’s the last two years where he’s really blossomed with more opportunity. He was a 37-goal scorer this past year with 12 more in the playoffs, 35 goals the year previous. We wish him the very best. I think he’s going to do great with his new opportunity,” McCrimmon said.
“I guess, from a team standpoint, this is the business of hockey. Pav was making $1.9 million with us last year. He’s now going to be making $11 million per 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. Again, this is a case where we love the player. He was really, really important for us. But we needed to take the opportunity to work on getting our cap compliant, and he was part of how we did that.”
Golden Knights Needed Draft Capital
In addition to the Golden Knights not having the cap space to sign Dorofeyev to an expensive long-term deal, the team also needed to accumulate more draft capital after trading so many picks away over the last few years, as they perennially contend for the Stanley Cup.
“In return (for Dorofeyev), we received two first-round draft choices from the New York Rangers. We received a third-round pick from the New York Rangers. In turn, at the draft, we moved back with our first-round pick on two different occasions, adding another third-round pick and a fourth-round pick. So, collectively, five picks that came out of the trade with the Rangers, two still to be used,” McCrimmon said.
“So, for the organization that had been focused on winning and competing every year, you eventually wear down your draft capital, your prospect pool a little bit. So this was our chance to address that and put some picks back into our system. So, that translated into seven selections over the course of the (draft).”
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