The Vegas Golden Knights certainly would’ve preferred not to trade Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers on Friday. Sending away their best pure shooter, who led the team in goals over the past two seasons, further diminished what was already arguably the team’s biggest weakness: finishing talent.But based on the salary-cap situation, Vegas didn’t have much of a choice.As has become common, the Golden Knights entered the offseason in a severe salary-cap crunch. They were always going to have to trade a major piece (or two) this summer, and on Friday, general manager Kelly McCrimmon decided Dorofeyev was the choice.Vegas dealt Dorofeyev to the Rangers for a first-round pick on Friday, which Vegas then traded down from twice and eventually selected Finnish defenseman Juho Piiparinen. The Golden Knights also received a third-round pick and a first-round pick in 2028.Shortly after the trade, the Rangers signed Dorofeyev to a massive seven-year extension worth $11 million per year. That deal is exactly why the Golden Knights were forced to trade their homegrown sharp-shooter.Vegas already has $91.45 million in cap space allocated to the 2026-27 season, with a roster of only 10 forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders. That leaves the team with only $12.55 million in space to fill out the remaining four spots, and that’s not accounting for the three extras most teams typically roster.Dorofeyev would’ve accounted for nearly all of Vegas’ remaining cap space, which is a problem considering the team still has to sign pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who is also due a hefty raise. Extending Andersson is a must, considering the Golden Knights traded Zach Whitecloud, defensive prospect Abram Wiebe, a first-round pick in 2027 and a second-round pick in 2028 to the Calgary Flames to acquire him in January.A long-term extension for Andersson is likely to be announced in the near future, and is expected to be in the range of $7.5 million to $9 million per season. That means that even after sending Dorofeyev out, Vegas is still incredibly tight to the cap. Even if Andersson’s extension comes in on the low range, it would leave the Golden Knights with only $5 million in cap space while still in need of two more forwards and another defenseman to fill out the minimum 20-man roster.As for the trade itself, Vegas did reasonably well considering the circumstances. It acquired two high-value draft picks, which are essentially just trade pieces for a team like the Golden Knights, but that’s important considering they had traded their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to Calgary. Vegas is almost certainly not done making trades this summer, and now has more pieces to work with.