Rangers have work to do despite having top pick in draft
New York Rangers president John Davidson refuses to get ahead of himself with his team in the unique position of holding the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft while also coming off an appearance in the expanded 24-team playoffs.
Exciting as it is having the opportunity to add someone such as projected top pick, Quebec-born play-making forward Alexis Lafreniere, to a young, retooling roster once the draft opens Tuesday night, Davidson cautioned the Rangers aren’t anywhere close to being a contender just yet.
The Rangers only made the playoffs because theNHL expanded the format to 24, rather than 16 teams. And even then, New York’s quick exit in being swept in three games by Carolina in the preliminary round wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“I think we have work to do, and I’m being bluntly honest,” Davidson said last week.
“Our No. 1 pick is going to be a very good hockey player, there’s no question, maybe even a great player, hopefully. But even he’s going to take some time to get there,” he added. “It’s a long hard climb, and we’re still in themiddle of it.”
At least they’re getting a head start courtesy of a coronavirus pandemic-altered NHL year, in which the draft lottery fell in favor of the Rangers, and against the seven non-playoff teams with far better odds of landing the top pick. The Los Angeles Kings choose second, followed by the Ottawa Senators, who have three first-round selections, and the Detroit RedWings, who were bumped to the No. 4 spot despite finishing with the NHL’s worst record.
As a result, the Rangers have the No. 1 pick for the first time since the NHL adopted the universal draft in 1969, and are the first team to select first when coming off a playoff appearance since 1983, when the then-Minnesota North Stars acquired theNo. 1 pick in a tradewith Pittsburgh.
The draft, originally scheduled tobeheld inMontreal in June, will instead be conducted with teams staying home to select remotely.