It wasn’t 2020 all over again for the New York Rangers when the NHL held its annual Draft Lottery Tuesday night live at the NHL Network’s Secaucus, NJ studio.
The Rangers didn’t land the No. 1 pick like they did in 2020, or even the No. 2 pick and instead fell to No. 5.
Fellow Original Six franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs, took home the No. 1 pick despite coming into the draft lottery with just an 8.5 percent chance to do so.
The San Jose Sharks meanwhile took home the No. 2 pick after the second round of four balls were drawn.
Because the Maple Leafs and Sharks each finished the 2025-26 regular season outside the top three spots going into the draft lottery, the remaining 14 teams who missed this year’s playoffs fell in line behind them and the Rangers fell to fifth.
With wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg projected to go first and second overall, the Rangers may look to add a center or even a defenseman at June’s draft. This could happen despite the Rangers having selected defensemen EJ Emery in 2024’s first round and Drew Fortescue in 2023’s third round.
In addition to the fifth overall pick, the Rangers have the 27th overall pick, according to PuckPedia. When the Blueshirts traded defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2025, they acquired a conditional first round pick and second round pick at this year’s draft. The condition was the pick would be either the Hurricanes’ or the Dallas Stars’ first round pick and if neither of those picks were a top 10 pick, the Rangers would receive the better of the two. With the Hurricanes now in the Eastern Conference semis and the Stars knocked out, the pick was sealed as the Stars’ pick.
Another note: Chris Drury made a smart decision when he decided to send the 2025 conditional first round draft pick they traded to Vancouver for J.T. Miller to the Penguins instead of their 2026 first round pick. As it turned out, the Rangers’ 2026 first round pick was the better of the two.
This is an unique opportunity for the Rangers. Last year, they didn’t have a first round pick. This year, they have two.
With these two valuable picks, the Rangers can draft one, maybe two skaters who can have an immediate impact on their lineup, which needs help as it stands. The bottom six forward group and the pipeline of prospects in the Rangers system with the Hartford Wolfpack in the American Hockey League (AHL) needs a serious boost and Drury can help alleviate this issue at the NHL draft which will take place on June 26.
Keep it with ONNJ Sports for continuing coverage of the New York Rangers in the lead-up to the 2026 NHL Draft!
