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New York Rangers: Draft day is finally here, buckle up!

By John Williams

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 26: Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers attends the 2015 NHL Draft at BB
SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 26: Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers attends the 2015 NHL Draft at BB /
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The day all New York Rangers fans have waited for over the last three months is finally here. Here’s everything you need to know for tonight.

It’s here! It’s finally here!

Draft day 2018 is upon us and it is time for New York Rangers fans to get excited and anxious. I know for me, I couldn’t sleep last night because I’m so anxious for general manager Jeff Gorton to go speak at the podium.

If you’re unfamiliar with the players available in tonight’s first round, check out our site’s NHL Draft rankings.

Here are some of the various thoughts I have going through my head right now about tonight’s main event:

  • It sounds if, for now, the Rangers will be selecting a player with all three first round picks. There had been rumors floating around that they’d trade the pick for a younger, NHL ready player but it appears that won’t be the case. He said this may change on the draft floor but he doesn’t foresee anything right now.
  • The Rangers are fully committed to the rebuild they started in February, despite rumors that they are interested in Erik Karlsson and Artemi Panarin. Gorton confirmed this in his pre-draft press conference.

"“We are going to investigate everything, that is what the job is, that is what we want to do. If there is an opportunity to get a player and the price isn’t too high, we will look at it. For anybody that would be skeptical of a rebuild, all you have to do is look at the last few months and the trade deadline and some of the things we have done. I think it’s pretty obvious we are trying to accumulate young players and assets and trying to get better and give these players opportunity.”"

  •  This is great to hear. Karlsson and Panarin are great players. With that said, you’d need to give up a boat load of young assets to acquire them which defeats the whole purpose. The Rangers can’t afford to take any shortcuts here on the path to contention.

More on the trade front

  • It appears as if a Ranger is traded tonight, it’s going to be Kevin Hayes.
  • Hayes is a nice player, for sure. With that said, the Rangers have six other centers on the roster. If they can leverage him for a right handed top pair defender, then there shouldn’t be a conversation. They should not use him to trade up from nine in the draft, though.
  • It appears that Vlad Namestnikov has very little trade value, so expect him to sign a cheap one or two year prove-it deal with the Rangers.
  • Reports say that the Oilers are looking to trade their 10th pick for a defenseman.
  • Rangers fans are asking on Twitter if they ask the Rangers for Skjei and 28, would it be worth it? Honestly, if Gorton said no, he should be fired.
  • I like Skjei, I really do. I don’t think he’s a top pairing defenseman. At number 10, there will likely be a defender with number one potential. That’s a move you make at this stage of the rebuild, no matter how fond we are of Skjei.

Next: Four projected first rounders to avoid

At the end of the day, there will be a whole lot more clarity about the path the Rangers are taking going forward. Last year, the team shipped out Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta on draft day afternoon. Maybe they’ll pull an equally shocking deal out of their sleeves this time around.

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