Rangers 2019 1st Round Draft Preview

After a couple of down years, Lady Luck finally smiled down on the New York Rangers when they “won” the NHL Draft Lottery.  Yes, I know the New Jersey Devils officially won the Lottery and will make the first selection in the 2019 NHL Draft.  However, the Rangers are winners as well for two reasons.

Obviously, the Rangers won because they jumped from the sixth spot up into the second spot.  The only other time has happened was in 2016 when Winnipeg made that exact same jump – and drafted Finnish winger Patrik Laine.

The second reason the Rangers are winners is by the fact they didn’t end up with the first overall pick.  The pressure on the Rangers is nonexistent because the Devils have the burden on making the right call of either Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko.  The Blueshirts can simply sit back and let the draft unfold.

The 2019 Draft marks the first time the Rangers will pick as high as the 2^nd overall pick since 1966 when they drafted Hall of fame defenseman Brad Park after the Boston Bruins made d-man Barry Gibbs the 1^st overall selection.  Of course, the Draft was a different beast back then because it only included players who had not signed contracts as part of the NHL’s sponsorship with Junior teams.

While it remains to be seen which star plays in New Jersey and which star plays in New York, there is one thing that is certain – Hughes and Kakko will be linked together for as long as they are members of the Devils and Rangers.  It will add an extra point of interest to the Hudson River Rivalry.

The discussion over who the Rangers will/should take with the second overall pick is moot.  If the Devils take Hughes, the Rangers take Kakko and vice versa.  Some fans who expect the Rangers to trade the pick or select someone else are wasting their time.

The Blueshirts will keep the second overall pick and select whichever star is not drafted by the Devils.  The only remote chance of something else happens would have to involve the Devils drafting Kakko and the Vancouver Canucks deciding that they are so intent on uniting the Hughes brothers that they offer the Rangers both Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser.  That isn’t happening and the Rangers are not trading the second overall pick.

The Rangers’ draft intrigue would have begun with their second 1^st round pick (#20) had they not sent that pick back to Winnipeg in Jacob Trouba deal.

Interestingly enough, the Rangers still might find their way back into the bottom of the 1^st round courtesy of their two 2^nd round picks and some potential trade prospects.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Blueshirts are entertaining offers for Pavel Buchnevich, Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Jimmy Vesey.  Gorton could offer a package of 2^nd round draft pick(s) and veteran player(s) to jump back into the 1^st round if the Rangers are enamored with a prospect or two.

If a player the Rangers like is still around at the end of the 1^st round, the Buffalo Sabres might be a team willing to deal.  John Vogl, who covers the Sabres for The Athletic, points out that out of the last 21 drafts the last pick of the 1^st round has been traded 10 times.  I don’t if that is much a trend as it could be the way those drafts played out, but it does give one a moment to pause.

Buffalo’s 2^nd round pick was traded to Carolina in the Jeff Skinner trade so Sabres GM Jason Botterill might be included to trade.  There have been rumors that Sabres have shown an interest in Vesey so could the Rangers entice Buffalo with a combination of picks and Vesey in a package for the 31^st overall pick and a player or future draft pick.

Given the uncertainty of Kreider’s contract status as he heads into his final year before becoming an UFA, the Rangers might have to decide to move him, and some other pricey contracts, if they want to get involved in the bidding for Artemi Panarin.  The ability to create cap space given the new expensive deal Trouba will command.

The Rangers eventual 1^st round pick has major implications for how the Blueshirts lineup will look on Opening Night.  If Jack Hughes were to slip to them, the Rangers would have some major decisions on what to do with Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil and Brett Howden – especially if Panarin dons the red, white and blue.

With Mika Zibanejad and Hughes penciled in as the top two centers, the Rangers would either have to shift a couple of the kid centers to wing or send them down to play major minutes in Hartford.  You figure that one of them could be the Rangers third line center with the team looking for a good deal on a veteran fourth line center (Brian Boyle) or decide to use Ryan Strome as the fourth line center.

If Panarin doesn’t sign with the Rangers, the team still might send a couple of the kid centers to Hartford depending on what other UFAs or trades Jeff Gorton and John Davidson have up their sleeves.

If the Rangers end up drafting Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers have more options with the kid centers – depending on how they view Strome (fourth line center or as a winger).  If the Rangers sign Panarin then the picture gets more crowded on the wings, but leave the Rangers the option of moving a couple of wingers for a center.

To further muddy the (frozen) waters, last year’s 1^st round pick Vitali Kravtsov has placed some center and some scouts believe that Kakko’s size makes him a natural center.  Both scenarios are unlikely, but d offer the Blueshirts some flexibility.

Whether it is Kakko or Hughes, whether the Rangers sign Panarin, or whether they sign some other free agent forward or trade for a second line center, there is one thing that is certain.  The Rangers have options in terms of how they shape the team during the summer of 2019.  If they bide their time they may even have an extra 2020 1^st round pick in among their trade resource if Mats Zuccarello re-signs with the Dallas Stars.