I began this week feeling the most down about the New York Rangers I probably ever have. The Panthers had acquired their second Tkachuk brother, the free agent class was barren, and the Blueshirts seemed to be aimlessly wandering towards the summer. The front office had no clear direction and it was time to choose one in an eastern conference where the list of contenders is growing. I admittedly was in the “commit to a full rebuild” camp while others wanted to go for it. Regardless of where you stood, it was time to finally be decisive and Drury chose option two and he got off to a great start…at least for one night.

Before the Rangers even got on the clock for the fifth pick in the draft, Drury made what I would say is his best transaction as Rangers GM to this point. After the first pick was made by Toronto, it was announced that the Rangers acquired the man you see above, Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev. For those unfamiliar with him, he’s a 25 year old offensive star in the making, coming off his best season yet in the NHL. This past season in “Sin City” he scored 37 goals (20 of which came in the power play), with 27 assists, and 12 lamp lighters on the Knights run to the Finals. The Russian native stands at 6’1” 194lbs and while his calling card is his offense, he’s handles himself well in the d-zone…at least per the scouting report.

To be blunt, this was a home run pick up by Drury, especially given the deal they inked him to, a 7 year contract at 11 million person season. This is good deal to give a 25 year old entering his prime, especially in comparison to the deal 30-year old Alex Tuch got from the Caps, eight years at 10.5 per. Dorofeyev was only available because Vegas couldn’t afford to sign him to a similar deal, so their misfortune becomes the Rangers gain this summer. The asset cost wasn’t cheap, as Drury sent pick 26 and 92 in this draft, and a conditional first rounder in 2028 to Vegas. As I said, it’s not an insignificant price to pay, but at best you’d be hoping to draft a player as good as Dorofeyev with those picks…a feat easier said than done. This is the kind of exciting player this fan base has been crying out for, hopefully more follow as it seems the front office wants to win now.

With the trade finalized, the Rangers got busy on the clock at five, and selected Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits. Smits, a big bruiser at 6’3” 205, is widely considered the most “pro-ready” blue liner in this draft class. Per most scouting reports, the 18 year old is seen as a steady player at the back end, who is sound in his own zone and thinks the game well. He has a full season of pro hockey in Finland under his belt as well as time representing his country at the Olympics, World Juniors and World Championships, tournaments he received rave reviews at. I, much like of most of you reading along, can’t pretend to have seen much of this player at all so I’d say let’s keep an open mind here as we move forward. For now it feels like a promising player has been brought into a prospect pool that is pretty devoid of exciting talent.

I’ve been very hard on GM Chris Drury over the last year plus, with good reason I’d argue, but right now that doesn’t much matter. We’ve been asking for this front office to commit to a direction and he did that tonight. Even if I didn’t want him to try and contend now, Dorofeyev was the right player to try and do it with. To make that deal happen without losing his fifth overall pick in the process was a home run, one we can only hope improves with time as Smits hopefully blossoms on Broadway. It’s a very positive night for Drury and his front office, but the work is only just beginning.

Drury now has to decide what happens with the never ending Vinny Trocheck saga, which is the most pressing item on their list right now. Trocheck has seemingly been on the brink of being dealt for some time now, but the Rangers haven’t pulled the trigger on any offer to this point. While he’s still expected to go, there’s a compelling argument to be made that if you’re adding a player like Dorofeyev, it feels wise to keep number 16 around to try and compete now. If you’ve chosen the win now path, then there can be no half measures, commit to it fully. If he does trade Trocheck as expected, I’ll be interested to see how he balances that with trying to win and how they replace him.

On top of the Trocheck situation there will be the matter of how the Rangers attack free agency, considering they still have close to 15 million in cap space. I’d expect them to be busy on July 1st and add more unless they tack on in another trade, regardless the money won’t sit there idly. We’ll get answers to all those questions and more in the coming days, but at least for one night, let’s enjoy the work Drury did. We haven’t had a lot to feel good about in the last 2 years in this fan base so this is a welcome change of pace. I didn’t anticipate writing a positive Rangers article this week, but man I’m glad to have been wrong about that!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our friends show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.