How a June Entry Draft would affect the Rangers

There are reports that the NHL is considering going ahead with the Entry Draft in June.  How would that affect the New York Rangers?

The hot report in the NHL these days is that the league is considering moving ahead with the NHL Entry Draft in June despite the fact that the future of this NHL season is still up in the air.  There seems to be no logical reason to do it, except to revive interest in hockey when there is virtually no news to report.  There are pros and cons when it comes to the New York Rangers and a draft in June.

The good news is that, unlike last season, none of the Rangers draft picks are contingent on playoff participation.  Last year, the picks the Rangers received from Dallas when they traded Mats Zuccarello were tied to where the Stars finished in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.   This season, the only contingency is tied to the Carolina Hurricanes pick the Rangers acquired in the Brady Skjei trade.  In this case, the Ranger will get the later of the Canes’ two picks. The second Carolina pick will be Toronto’s first rounder from the Patrick Marleau deal.

The Rangers have their own first round pick and the Carolina pick.  They don’t have a second round pick, but own two picks in the third round and one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.   They also have three picks in the seventh round.

Pros to an early draft

By conducting the draft before the season is over, the Rangers would be a lottery team as they are not in the playoffs. The league would have to figure out a way of ranking the teams fairly since all teams haven’t played the same number of games.   If the league went with points percentage, the Rangers would pick 13th overall and have a 6.6% shot at getting a lottery pick in the top three.

This would work to the Rangers’ advantage as they still have a shot at making the playoffs and in that case would be out of the lottery.   There has been some discussion of a “play-in” preliminary playoff round involving 24 teams and in that case the Blueshirts would be out of the lottery which would be open to the seven teams that didn’t make that round.

More from Editorials

• Rangers’ Playoff Redemption Recipe: Grit and Fresh Hopes
• Rangers’ Roster Chatter: Who’s Making the Cut and Who’s in the Penalty Box?
• These Rangers must learn Peter Laviolette’s ropes before they can fly
• Filip Chytil Could Take Major Steps in the 2023-24 Season
• Looking forward to the upcoming season for Artemi Panarin

Considering that if the season resumes, the playoffs could go as deep as into late August.  If the league waited until after the playoffs were over to hold the draft, it would further compress an insane schedule as they prepare for next season.  By the time the draft could be held, prospects eligible for the draft would have had to commit to attending universities or junior teams or would have had to sign with teams in the European pro leagues.  It would be a mess.  Getting it done early would help reduce the chaos.

The obvious positive to an early draft, and the reason the league is considering it, is that it would get fans engaged, generate a lot of discussion and get some attention back on the NHL at time that there will be a lot of focus on the NBA as well as Major League Baseball.

Cons to an early draft

There are quite a few reasons why this is a bad idea.  First and foremost, it wouldn’t take into account the final standings.  The worst case scenario would be a cusp team getting a top three lottery pick and then going on a deep run into the playoffs or even winning the Cup.  The also-rans would be screaming bloody murder.   Then again, the New York Rangers could be that cusp team.

The biggest issue is that general managers would be handcuffed going into the draft, unable to trade picks or making any bold moves.  Is it conceivable that Jeff Gorton would try to package the two Ranger first round picks or a first rounder and a player and move up in the draft?

With the season still in limbo, no teams could trade any players leading up to the draft and that would hamper teams like the Rangers who are known for being aggressive when it comes to transactions. Remember, the Rangers were able to trade for Jacob Trouba last year because they included a first round pick in the upcoming draft.

With the salary cap situation unknown and the odds that it will remain where it is or even go down, it makes the draft even more important.  Teams will be willing to make deals to free up cap space and they wouldn’t be able to do that if the draft is held before the season is over or the cap has not been determined.

One scenario for the NHL

Since we are in uncharted waters, the league may try something dramatic to level the playing field and make the draft even more dramatic. There is a precedent, the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, conducted after the lockout season.

In that draft, the lottery order was determined by a random drawing of ping pong balls, weighted by performance in prior years.  The criteria was playoff appearances in the three prior seasons and the first overall picks int he last four Entry Drafts.

The Rangers were one of four teams to get three  balls since they had missed the playoffs for those three years and had not had a first overall pick for the last four years.  If a team had gotten the first overall pick or made the playoffs one, it got two balls.  Everyone else got one ball.

Buffalo,Columbus and Pittsburgh were the other teams with three balls. Of course, it was the Penguins who won the lottery and were able to draft Sidney Crosby.  The Rangers didn’t get any of the top picks and ended up selecting Marc Staal 12th overall.

If the league went that route, it would make the whole lottery process a little more equitable and considering the Rangers’ performance over the last few seasons, they could end up with a more weighted pick.

You can be sure the NHL will be watching the NFL’s 2020 virtual draft this week to see how it goes.   They will also be watching the NBA to see what action they take as they are in the exact same situation as the NHL.

There’s no telling what the league will end up doing.  They are surveying the owners and will hopefully come up with a plan that makes sense.   The Rangers wouldn’t be much better or worse off than their counterparts in the NHL and that is what is most important.