The rationale behind turning Pavel Dorofeyev into Juho Piiparinen and draft picks
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
The first round of the NHL Draft is often seen as a franchise-altering moment league-wide.
Despite not having their first round selection this year, the Vegas Golden Knights managed to find themselves directly in the path of the storm.
Just as the draft went underway, the Golden Knights made a decision that directly impacted the immediate future of their squad, sending leading goal-scorer Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers in exchange for two first-round selections and a third-round pick. Dorofeyev would immediately ink a seven-year, $77 million pact with his new team to keep himself in the Big Apple until 2033.
On the surface, Dorofeyev’s loss leaves a crater on offense, and that may very well be the case. Replacing the 37 goals Dorofeyev scored this season, as well as his 12 through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, is a difficult question to answer.
However, $11 million per year is typically a commitment for a goal-scorer that a team expects to have Rocket Richard Trophy potential, so New York is taking the gamble that Dorofeyev can take the next step and emerge among the NHL’s elite scorers. Not to mention, from the Golden Knights’ perspective, adding another eight-figure annual cap hit on top of Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner dramatically affect their salary cap calculus. In the end, it came down to Vegas not wanting to gut more of their roster than absolutely necessary, electing to move off of one player instead of having to do so with three or four.
Deciding to trade Dorofeyev increases the likelihood of Rasmus Andersson remaining with the Golden Knights, as has been rumored for some time now. It also suggests an end to trade rumors surrounding the likes of Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson, who played key roles for Vegas during the run to the Stanley Cup Final. On the future side of things, a spot on the roster is now potentially open for top prospect Trevor Connelly, who shined under new Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig in Henderson and now has a clear path towards top-six minutes and power play time.
Meanwhile, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon was not done wheeling and dealing.
With the 26th overall selection, McCrimmon sent it over to the Montreal Canadiens to move down two selections, as well as acquire a third-round pick in 2027. Shortly after, the Golden Knights accepted a deal with the Anaheim Ducks to move down a pick in exchange of picking up a fourth-round selection later today.
Finally, the Golden Knights would add a first-round prospect to their farm system, adding Finnish defenseman Juho Piiparinen with the 29th overall pick.
A player who has comfortably ranked in the top 20 on some boards, Piiparinen has impressed as a 17-year-old already playing an extensive role for Tappara in Liiga, Finland’s top men’s hockey league. He has a ceiling reminiscent of Minnesota Wild and Team USA defenseman Brock Faber, playing a no-nonsense game that features enough offense to go with spectacular play in his own zone. While the trend is that the Golden Knights often deal their first-round prospects, Piiparinen is a unicorn as a right-shot defenseman with quality puck-moving instincts, giving Vegas the top-flight defensive prospect that their farm system has lacked (not helped by the potential call-up of Lukas Cormier).
Suddenly, the morning after Round One looks to be far busier for the Golden Knights, who now find themselves with six picks in the next six rounds.
Of course, it is difficult to imagine Vegas is intent to just sit on their hands and wait for their turn to be on the clock. The Dylan Larkin rumors have continued to swirl around the team, while Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman and fellow Team USA player Zach Werenski is now considered up for grabs. As has often been the case in their short history, the Golden Knights are bound to be on both, and today could lead to another monumental moment that changes the face of the team for the foreseeable future.
There is a line of logic, at least, to the decision that sent Dorofeyev across the country, but only time will tell if it proves true.
