The New York Rangers will get the first, 10th or 11th pick in the NHL Entry Draft
You had to wait into the wee hours on Saturday morning to see the Vancouver Canucks eliminate the Minnesota Wild just 11 seconds into overtime. With that, the New York Rangers draft position became as set as it will be going into Phase Two of the NHL Draft Lottery on Monday night.
The Rangers have a one in eight shot at the first position. If they don’t win the lottery they will get the 10th overall pick if Winnipeg or Minnesota wins the lottery or they will pick 11th if the lottery is won by any other team.
The teams vying for the chance to draft Alexis Lafreniere are the Rangers, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Edmonton, Nashville, Florida and the loser of the Toronto-Columbus series that will go to a fifth game on Sunday.  Here’s a look at what Ranger fans wish for and fear.
The best option
This is an easy one. The Rangers win the lottery and get the first pick. The good news is the Blueshirts have an equal shot among the eight teams, a 12.5% chance of getting the brass ring.
If they do win, it will be very unusual. In the four years since the NHL introduced a weighted lottery system for the top three picks, only one team has moved up twice with lottery wins. The New Jersey Devils moved up in 2017 and 2019 to snatch the top pick overall. Thankfully, they didn’t get that chance this year.
After moving up to second last year and drafting Kaapo Kakko,the Rangers could make it two in a row.
No top pick, but still pretty good
If the Rangers don’t get the top lottery pick, the hope has to be that Winnipeg or Minnesota get it. The biggest reason for that is the Rangers will then get the 10th overall pick in in the Entry Draft.
Does it really matter? While that depends on a team’s scouting and prospect evaluation, it can be significant. In 2015 Mikko Rantanen went 10th overall versus Lawson Crouse at 11th.
Of course, we all know the Rangers draft record. Since the 1994 Stanley Cup season, the Blueshirts have picked 11th or higher nine times. The names? Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Lias Andersson, Pavel Brendl, Jamie Lundmark, Manny Malhotra, Al Montoya, Dan Blackburn and Dylan McIlrath.  Yikes.
Another reason to root for Minnesota or Winnipeg? They are Western Conference teams and if they get Lafreniere, he won’t be around to torment the Rangers as much.
Good,but not great
If New York, Minnesota or Winnipeg don’t win the lottery, the Rangers will drop to 11th overall.  11th is still a pretty decent pick and much better than the 13th or 14th pick they would have had if the favorites had won all of their series in the Stanley Cup Qualifier.  There are some teams that are a better option for the Rangers.
For reasons stated above, it’s always better for an elite player to skate in the Western Conference. The last thing the Rangers need is for an Eastern Conference rival to get stronger. Therefore, Nashville and Edmonton are the next best options.
The Predators have never had the top overall pick, but they finished the season with the sixth best record in the West, so it will be a case of the rich getting richer.
As for Edmonton, they have had the top pick four times in the last decade and also got Leon Draisaitl with the third overall pick in 2014. Their lack of playoff success is an indictment of their organization and this year was just another example. They had the ninth best point total in the NHL this season. Still, the thought of Lafreniere on the left side of Connor McDavid has to be pretty scary.
Bad, but acceptable
If Florida or Toronto (if they lose to Columbus) were to win the lottery it would hurt, but at least both teams are in the Atlantic Division. Adding Lafreniere to the Panthers roster would make an already tough Division even tougher and having the Bruins, Lightning, Panthers and Maple Leafs beating each other’s brains out all season is actually a nice thought.
If Toronto loses to Columbus and enters the lottery, the idea that Lafreniere could join Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander is just absurd. With that embarrassment of riches, the pressure on the Leafs to win would be so great that failure would be inevitable. Good.
An ugly option
If the Blue Jacket lose their Qualifier to Toronto and enter the lottery, their winning would be a pretty ugly scenario for the Rangers. Columbus figures to be one of the Blueshirts’ major rivals for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division for years to come and the late last thing New York needs is this bunch of over-achievers to get an elite player.
Everyone wrote off the Blue Jacket this season after they lost Artemi Panarin,Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Yet, Jack Adams Trophy finalist John Tortorella has worked a miracle and had the team in contention for a playoff spot when the season ended.
Making the playoffs out of the Metropolitan Division will be an annual struggle and despite their heroics, Columbus figures to be one of the teams the Rangers can catch. Not if they have Lafreniere.
A horrifying scenario
If the Pittsburgh Penguins win the lottery there should be Congressional investigation. First, they blatantly tanked to get Mario Lemieux. Then, they won the right to draft Sidney Crosby in a special draft after the 2004-05 lockout.  Not only that, in a year that they didn’t have the top pick and drafted second, they lost out on Alexander Ovechkin, but the consolation prize was Evgeni Malkin.
The Penguins finished the season with the seventh best points percentage in the entire NHL. But for a late season slide when they lost 11 of 15 games, they would have easily finished near the top of the entire league.
Their dramatic loss to the Canadiens proved that the Penguins are aging and need new blood, but after winning two Stanley Cups in the last four years, shouldn’t they suffer like every NHL team? Pittsburgh winning the lottery would be devastating for every Metropolitan Division team including the Rangers. It just cannot happen.
So, what next?
Ranger fans should watch the game on Sunday between Toronto and Columbus and root hard for the Blue Jackets. There’s a little added suspense as the Blueshirts could end up with Toronto’s first round pick from the Brad Skjei trade, but the idea of Lafreniere in the Metropolitan Division with Columbus is far worse.
Monday night at 6pm , Phase Two of the draft lottery will be televised live on NBCSN and the NHL Network. The word is that there won’t be a lot of suspense. While a team by team elimination would be excruciating, the belief is that the NHL will just announce the team that won. Alexis Lafreniere will be standing by to be interviewed along with the general manager of the lucky team. Let’s all just hope that it is Jeff Gorton.
Add us as a preferred source on Google