NHL Draft Lottery Phase 2: A Complete New York Rangers Preview

With the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round officially in the books, we can now shift our focus ahead to Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery. As a result of the New York Rangers getting swept out of the bubble in three quick games, they will be one of the eight teams participating in the drawing for the rights to Alexis Lafrenière.

When and Where

  • Date: Monday, Aug 10
  • Time: 6pm ET, 3pm PT
  • Where: NHL Network studios (Secaucus, New Jersey)
  • Television: NBCSN, NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA Sports/

How Phase 2 Works

Each team that failed to advance out of the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round will be in the running to win the first overall selection and have an equal 12.5% chance. Unlike the first phase, the teams will be represented by one ball each and the winning selection will own rights to the top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

After the winning team is selected, the seven teams that did not win the lottery will be assigned picks 9 through 15 in reverse order of their regular season point percentages.

Rangers’ First Round Selections

Their own first-round pick

For the Rangers’ own first-round pick, they will obviously have a shot at the first overall selection by being one of the eight teams participating in the lottery. However, thanks to the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens advancing, the Rangers cannot pick lower than 11th in the event that they are not awarded the number one pick.

As it stands right now, there are only two possible outcomes depending on how the lottery drawing shakes out. If the Minnesota Wild or Winnipeg Jets are selected as the winner, the Rangers will move up into the 10th slot. If any of the other five teams win the lottery, New York will slide down a peg and pick 11th.

Pick from the Brady Skjei trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to complete one final comeback against the Columbus Blue Jackets, thus completing the Brady Skjei transaction. New York will now receive Carolina’s first-round pick no matter what. However, with Carolina advancing to the playoffs, the final number will depend on how far they advance.

The highest possible pick the Rangers could get from Carolina would be 20th overall, while the lowest would be 31st, assuming the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. The very basic breakdown on where the pick could potentially end up is as follows:

  • Picks 20-24: Carolina loses in the first or second round.
  • Picks 28-29: Carolina loses in the Eastern Conference Final.
  • Picks 30-31: Carolina advances to the Stanley Cup Final./

First Round Draft Order

  1. TBD** (Lottery winner)
  2. Los Angeles Kings
  3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose)
  4. Detroit Red Wings
  5. Ottawa Senators
  6. Anaheim Ducks
  7. New Jersey Devils
  8. Buffalo Sabres
  9. TBD**
  10. TBD**
  11. TBD**
  12. TBD**
  13. TBD**
  14. TBD**
  15. TBD**

** The pick will be determined by the Phase 2 lottery drawing.

The lottery is scheduled to kick off at 6pm ET, so be sure to stop by our game thread to join in on the discussion. May the lottery balls be in our favor.