Where Dorofeyev Fits Is the First Real Question of the New Regime

The Rangers are working through how to deploy Pavel Dorofeyev as training camp approaches, and the fact that it's an active conversation rather than a settled answer tells you something about where this rebuild actually stands. He came over from Vegas as the Golden Knights' leading goal scorer, which made him the marquee piece of a forward overhaul that also brought in Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen, and others on short-term deals. The front office clearly prioritized offensive punch. Now comes the harder part: figuring out which linemates and which situations get the most out of him.

The context matters here. Last season, Artemi Panarin carried the offense — 49 points in 45 games — while the team around him largely couldn't keep pace. Mika Zibanejad finished second among the key contributors but the forward group as a whole bled goals against, with most of the top scorers carrying significant minus ratings. Dorofeyev doesn't fix the defensive side of that equation by himself, but if he can provide a second reliable scoring threat alongside Panarin, the offensive load gets distributed in a way it simply wasn't in 2026.

My read is that the linemate question is the right one to be asking right now, before camp locks anything in. Panarin is the obvious draw, but whether Dorofeyev slots beside him or operates as a separate threat on a second line probably depends on how the center situation shakes out with Trocheck gone. That's the variable Quentin Dolan's group hasn't fully answered yet, and it's the one that will determine whether this offseason's forward investments actually cohere into something functional.