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Should we care about the new lottery format & Kravtsov decision looming

BySteve Paulus|
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: Jamie Hersch of the NHL Network interviews Alexis Lafreniere after his selection in the number one position by the New York Rangers in the 2020 National Hockey League Draft at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 06: Jamie Hersch of the NHL Network interviews Alexis Lafreniere after his selection in the number one position by the New York Rangers in the 2020 National Hockey League Draft at the NHL Network Studio on October 06, 2020 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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Alexis Lafreniere after his selection in the number one position by the New York Rangers in the 2020 National Hockey League Draft (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The NHL announced that they have decided on a new format for the draft lottery.  Is there a reason New York Rangers fans should care? The answer is probably no even if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs.  Here are the changes.

  1. The number of lottery draws is being reduced from three to two.   That means only the top two selections will be available to the lottery winners.  It guarantees that  the team that finishes last overall will still get the third overall pick if they don’t win the lottery.   That change takes effect with the 2021 lottery and will make Steve Yzerman very happy.
  2. The most a team will be able to move up is ten spots.  That means that the number of team eligible to select first overall will be reduced from 16 teams to 11.   The number of teams that can win the second overall selections is reduced from 16 teams to 12.   That change will effect with the 2022 Entry Draft and hockey insiders refer to that as the New York Rangers rule.
  3. There will be a limit on the number of times a team can win the lottery.  Starting in 2022, a team will not be able to win more than twice in a five year period. If that rule had been in effect in the past, it wouldn’t have hurt the Rangers, but it would have kept the Oilers from drafting Connor McDavid.

How it affects the Rangers

The good news is if the Rangers miss the playoffs and qualify for the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery, they can still win the lottery and get the first or second pick.  While the odds are slim, it’s still possible and considering the competitiveness of the East Division, it means that if the Rangers miss out on the post season, they have a chance to win for the third straight year no matter where they finish in the non-playoff teams rankings.

The other two rule changes don’t kick in until next season and they would have hurt the team much more this season.   Hopefully by next season, the Rangers will definitely be a playoff team so any draft lottery consideration will be irrelevant.

So, while we all wish for the Rangers to make the postseason, one consolation is that if they don’t, Jeff Gorton can show up for the draft with  P.O. Steven McDonald’s shield as his lucky charm and we can dream that the Rangers luck into the first or second pick.

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