NY Rangers guaranteed selection between picks 20-24 in 2020 draft

The Carolina Hurricanes lost their first round series to the Boston Bruins last night, a best-case scenario for the Rangers. As part of the Brady Skjei trade, the Rangers will receive the worse of Carolina’s two first rounders. Since the Toronto Maple Leafs –the other first rounder owned by the Canes– lost in the play-in round, the Rangers were guaranteed Carolina’s pick. With The Canes loss, the NY Rangers are guaranteed a selection between picks 20-24 in the 2020 NHL Draft.

While the exact pick isn’t known yet, HSM here has laid out all the scenarios. It’s worth noting that the third round here is the Conference Finals (Final Four). Yes, this means selling your soul to route for a few teams you would never root for.

These scenarios take a hit because only one of Dallas/Calgary can advance to the 2nd round. Meaning the Eastern Conference Final needs to be Isles/Habs and the Western Conference Final needs to be Vancouver/whoever wins that Dallas/Calgary series. Doable, but that means major upsets. I don’t see anyone beating Colorado in the West, and Vegas looks damn good too.

Also worth noting that Montreal is down 3-2 to the top seed Flyers in the East. Unless they come back, that #20 possibility is out the window. If/When that happens, then it’s Isles/Flyers in the second round, and that’s where selling your soul comes into play. Prepare to root for the Isles. Although that blow is softened because it’s against the Flyers.

As of now, the NY Rangers are guaranteed a selection between picks 20-24 in the 2020 NHL Draft. However pick #20 is very quickly going out the door. The Rangers are going to be creative with the pick, since all signs are pointing to this being either #23 or #24. In addition to the first overall, of course.