New York Rangers Secure Franchise Altering Forward Following A Series Of Fortunate Events Today In History
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On this date in New York Rangers history, five years ago, they'd win the draft lottery. That year, it'd give them the chance to pick a franchise player in the 2020 NHL Draft, which GM Jeff Gorton would select forward Alexis Lafreniere, 1st OA.
On August 10th, 2020, the New York Rangers would hold the fateful NHL Draft Lottery. The lottery that year was conducted in two phases.
The team was included in the lottery as a result of the Blueshirts being eliminated from the Stanley Cup qualifiers, giving them a unique position to draft 1st overall after the first phase on July 26th.
The Rangers, like other teams, had an equal shot at winning the lottery with a 12.5% chance.
The teams that are participating tonight didn't succeed in the qualifying round for the playoffs, which under a normal year would have been the equivalent of not making the [Stanley Cup Playoffs], they would have been eligible for the lottery," Commissioner Gary Bettman told NHL Network. "Our competitive balance is so extraordinary the differences between and among our clubs isn't all that great.
"So under these unusual circumstances, this made the most sense and was fair, despite who you root for and what result [it] ultimately obtains."
"So under these unusual circumstances, this made the most sense and was fair, despite who you root for and what result [it] ultimately obtains."
The Selection of Alexis Lafreniere
The New York Rangers' fate would be sealed by finishing 18th overall in the standings that year, and would be the first team since 1994 to finish that high in the standings and win the 1st overall pick.
Only the Florida Panthers before them had that kind of luck.
The team would utilize the 1st OA pick to select Alexis Lafreniere from the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL.
Since then, he's played 380 NHL games and scored 193 points (92-101). We've seen flashes of brilliance in his play the last two seasons, but he has yet ot meet the marks expected for his draft choice.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
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