New York Rangers: Some changes looming for the Entry Draft

The ravages of Covid-19 has had a ripple effect on all things hockey and the New York Rangers.  Besides the suspension of the NHL season, there is uncertainty about the NHL Entry Draft.

Any other year the hockey world would be gearing up for the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Meanwhile, teams on the outside of the playoff bubble, like the New York Rangers, would be dreaming about the prospect pool and calculating the odds of winning the draft lottery.   This year is different.

The first issue facing the NHL is whether the season will even be allowed to finish. If the season does end, there will be a definitive list of teams in and out of the postseason and that will determine draft lottery eligibility.  The goal will be to get all teams to have played an even number of games so there is no question of who is in the playoffs or not.

There has been some discussion of an expanded playoff pool of 24 teams so all contending teams will be in the mix. In that case the lottery could be restricted to the teams who miss the playoffs and those teams that lose in the first “play-in” round.

The real question mark will be if the season is really over and there will be no playoffs.  In that case, the league will have to come up with some formula for draft position. It could be based on points per game, winning percentage or any number of potential calculators.

All of these uncertainties make speculation about draft position or lottery odds moot until the NHL decides how they will move forward and no one knows when that will happen.  We will just have to wait.