An absolutely crazy trade proposal if they get the top pick

If the New York Rangers get the number one pick in the lottery, they should trade it and here’s why

If the New York Rangers lose in the qualifying round and win the number one overall pick in Phase Two of the NHL draft lottery, rather than select Alexis Lafreniere, they should do the unthinkable and trade the pick.

There’s a simple reason why.  Lafreniere is a left winger and the Rangers are overpopulated at that position.   With Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider ensconced at left wing for years to come, there’s no room at the inn for Lafreniere and there is no way that he would be a third line player.  While they could select him and move him to center, there’s no guarantee that such a move would work and the last thing you want to do is to mess with the head of your best prospect.

Here’s the deal

While trading the number one overall pick can be seen as lunacy, there is one deal with one team that would make some sense.  Here goes:

While two top five picks is a heavy price to pay, the Senators would be getting a generational player in Lafreniere who grew up less than two hours from Ottawa.  He would be an immediate box office draw and his addition would make up for the disappointment at failing to move up in the first phase of the draft lottery.

The Senators are also in dire need of a starting goaltender and Georgiev is the perfect solution.  There had been rumors that the Senators were interested in the young Bulgarian and he could solve their goalie issues for years to come.

For the Rangers, this is one of the deepest drafts in years and the Blueshirts would be getting two rock solid prospects in the third and fifth overall picks.   Take your pick among Tim Stützle, Quinton Byfield, Cole Perfetti, Marco Rossi, or Lucas Raymond.  While the players they pick might not be ready for the NHL as soon as next season, they would be regulars in no time.

Defenseman Christian Wolanin is a lefthanded defenseman who spent this season out with a torn labrum in his shoulder.   He’s 25 years old and showed enough in his rookie season in 2018-19 to be a viable candidate to be Jacob Trouba’s defense partner.  Wolanin has good hockey bloodlines.  He is the son of former NHL defenseman Craig Wolainin.

Finally, trading Georgiev seems like an inevitability unless the team decides to buy out the last year of Henrik Lundqvist’s contract.  While that is an option, it’s something the team probably doesn’t want to do.  They’d be fine with Lundqvist mentoring and backing up Igor Shesterkin until Adam Huska, Tyler Wall or Olof Lindbom are ready to step in.

The downside

There is a downside to the Rangers making this deal.  In Lafreniere, the Senators would be getting a generational player, one level below a Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby.   Those kind of players don’t come along very often and the idea of trading him away is abhorrent.

Also, the Senators are in the Eastern Conference and the Blueshirts’ worst nightmare would be a playoff series against Ottawa with Georgiev pitching a Game Seven shutout as Lafreniere scores the only goal.

Could it happen?  There are an awful lot of variables before we could even think about it. The Rangers would have to lose to Carolina and then win the draft lottery.  That’s an awful lot of factors,  but it’s not impossible.   The next step is the best-of-five qualifying series due to begin in August.  We shall see and we can dream.