Bantering Points: 5/6/25

Here are today's news and links:

From Blueshirt Banter:

Roberto Solis-Byxbee grades Brennan Othmann's injury-truncated 2024-25 campaign between New York and AHL Hartford (BSB)

Keegan Jarvis graded the forwards for the Hartford Wolf Pack through the course of their season as New York's top minor-league affiliate (BSB)

Rangers News:

Vincent Mercogliano reports that the ping pong balls of the NHL Draft Lottery did not smile upon the Blueshirts on Monday as the team slipped from its projected 11th overall pick down to 12th overall (LoHud)

Nicholas Seltz examines how the Rangers can get back on track following its disastrous 2024-25 campaign (The Hockey Writers)

Stan Fischler uses New York's firing of Peter Laviolette to tie back to a story from the 1950s (The Hockey News)

Remy Mastey discusses the decision facing Chris Drury with regards to ceding the 12th overall pick of the 2025 Entry Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins or retaining the pick and handing over the 2026 first-rounder (The Hockey News)

Justin Bonhard makes the case for why the Rangers can't afford for Mike Sullivan to be anything less than great as the franchise's next head coach (Blue Line Station)

Around the NHL:

The New York Islanders and Utah Hockey Club won the two drawings in the NHL Draft Lottery, with the Islanders moving up from 10th to the first overall pick while Utah jumped from 14th to fourth (TSN)

The Los Angeles Kings will not be renewing the contract of general manager Rob Blake following the team's fourth consecutive first-round exit at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers (NBC Sports)

The Toronto Maple Leafs staved off a third-period surge from the Florida Panthers to hang on for a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Final (Sportsnet)

The previously scheduled 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena in Elmont will be subbed out for an international event ahead of the 2026 Olympics (ESPN)