No magic this time: Rangers have No. 12 pick in 2025 NHL Draft after dropping 1 spot in lottery
The Rangers entered the lottery with a three percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. Instead their archrival, the Islanders, landed the top selection in this year's draft, making a big jump from the 10th spot. The Islanders had only slightly better odds at 3.5 percent to move up to No. 1, but the ping-pong balls bounced their way.
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The second phase of the lottery was won by the Utah Hockey Club, and they now have the No. 4 overall pick. Utah began the night sitting at No. 14, but draft lottery rules stipulate that no team can move up more than 10 spots.
Since Utah finished behind the Rangers in the standings and jumped them in the lottery, the Blueshirts were knocked back one spot to 12th overall. The San Jose Sharks, who had the best odds entering the lottery, will pick second overall, and the Chicago Blackhawks dropped to No. 3 overall.
Now, the Rangers must decide if they want to hold on to their 2025 first-round pick or turn it over to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers traded this pick to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31 when they acquired J.T. Miller. The Canucks then flipped it to the Penguins in a deal for defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
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Since the pick is top-13 protected, the Rangers can keep it this season and then send an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Penguins, or give this year's pick to Pittsburgh and retain their 2026 selection in the first round.
The Rangers have until 48 hours before the draft on June 27 to inform the Penguins of their decision.
Related: Rangers rumors — Irritated Brady Tkachuk says trade wish 'just not true'
Luck shined previously on Rangers, but this time Islanders win draft lottery
The Rangers had their share of luck in the recent past with the draft lottery, including winning the right to select forward Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 pick in 2020. They won the draft lottery that year after finishing 18th in the League; the Rangers were allowed to move up that many spots because they lost in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
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In 2019, the Rangers selected forward Kaapo Kakko with the No. 2 overall pick after moving up four spots in the lottery. They lost out to the New Jersey Devils, who won the lottery and selected center Jack Hughes first overall.
The Islanders have selected first overall four times in their history: 1972 (Billy Harris), 1973 (Denis Potvin), 2000 (Rick DiPietro) and 2009 (John Tavares).
Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman with Erie in the OHL, is projected by many to be the top pick in this year's draft. Long Island native James Hagens, a forward at Boston College, could be an intriguing option for the Islanders, as well.
In an interesting side note, had the Islanders defeated the Rangers once this season in regulation, the teams would've flipped spots in the lottery and the Rangers would've ended up with the top pick. The Rangers swept all four games in the season series with the Islanders.
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