Big Apple bound
The New York Rangers won the NHL draft lottery (and can start to dream about Alexis Lafrenière without jinxing it).
The New York Rangers were the first team to see their NHL restart bubble burst.
They got a pretty nice consolation prize Monday.
The Rangers won the second phase of the draft lottery, all but assuring star winger and presumptive No. 1 pick Alexis Lafrenière will be heading to the Big Apple.
“Leaving the bubble first hurts,” Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said. “There’s still seven teams in the hotel and you’re walking by them all. They’re all getting coffee and you’re getting on your bus. Usually you lose, you walk out of the rink, you fly home.
“This one year, you’re right in there with all these teams and you’re the first one out.”
Now they’ll be the first to the microphone when the draft, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10, is held at the conclusion of the pandemic-delayed season.
New York had a one in eight shot — or 12.5 per cent — of grabbing the top pick after a placeholder secured the No. 1 slot back in June.
Swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-five qualifying round, the Rangers were one of the eight clubs eliminated from the 24-team restart included in the second phase of the lottery.
“It’s been really long the last couple months,” said Lafrenière, who’s played three seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rimouski Oceanic.“But really fun to know who won the lottery. It’s pretty good news and I’m really happy.”
New York selected Finnish winner Kaapo Kakko in 2019 after jumping from No. 6 to No. 2 in the draft order, and already has lots of firepower up front, including Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
The Edmonton Oilers, Florida
Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets were also in the mix for this year’s top pick.
Lafrenière said he let his mind wander as players such as Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews were eliminated over the last number of days, narrowing where he might end up.
“The lottery had a couple of really good teams,” he said. “It was a really exciting.”
The Los Angeles Kings will choose second.