It is the 12.5 Percent Solution that represents an accelerated path to the future without compromising the program. On Monday night, in a tight half-hour telecast fraught with drama produced by an NHL that is hitting all of the marks, the Rangers recorded the biggest August victory in franchise history.
Alexis Lafreniere, the projected franchise left wing out of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, is in line to pull on the Blueshirt as the No. 1 selection in the 2020 Entry Draft tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6 following the luckiest bounce of a pingpong ball since Tex Rickard put his hockey team in the Garden in 1926.
Only once, in the 1965 amateur draft in which only 11 players were chosen because the best of the best prospects had already committed to NHL teams, have the Rangers chosen first overall. The fellow chosen with that selection, Andre Veilleux, never played an NHL game. The universal draft was inaugurated in 1969.
It is hardly likely that fate will befall Lafreniere, who has separated himself from the rest of the prospect pack to such a meaningful degree that the Blueshirts are extremely unlikely to pass up the opportunity to select the 6-foot-1, 193-pounder who will turn 19 on Oct. 11 despite the fact that Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider are currently on top of the depth chart at Lafreniere’s left-wing position.
Oh, and by the way, the offensively gifted Lafreniere’s favorite NHL player?
“My favorite player, for sure, this year was Panarin,” Lafreniere said via a Zoom call following the drawing in which all eight qualifying-round losers had a 12.5 percent chance of snagging the top-overall pick. “Just the unreal year he had, really dominant, and one of the best players in the league this year, so for sure really exciting to watch.”
Now, general manager Jeff Gorton, who said time and time again over his Zoom call how Rangers fans should celebrate, was not about to commit to selecting Lafreniere. Of course he wouldn’t. Maybe Ottawa will offer the third-overall pick and Brady Tkachuk to move up to No. 1. Well, no, they won’t, but there is no legit reason for the GM to declare now.
“I’m from the school of, we’ll take some time here and let this all settle in,” Gorton said. “I wouldn’t want to give away exactly what is going to happen and we haven’t had the luxury of — we didn’t want to jinx ourselves and zoom into the interview with Alexis until we had the good fortune of winning the lottery. I didn’t want to waste his time.
“So we’ll go through that process and go down the road of talking to him and his family. Let’s get through that first and for tonight, let’s have Rangers fans be happy about winning the lottery.”
Lafreniere, who will have to change numbers unless Mark Messier and Vic Hadfield decide that they would like to hand their retired No. 11 over to the youngster, is known as a dynamic, creative playmaker who also has more than a glimmer of physicality to his game. That will be an important ingredient to add to a Rangers team that probably leans a bit too heavily on the finesse end of things.
The winger, the MVP of the World Juniors, posted more than two points per game for Rimouski, coming in with 112 points (35-77) in 52 games. He registered 11 points (5-6) in 10 games over two years for Team Canada in the World Junior Tournament.
“I would say my vision offensively, creating chances for me or for my teammates,” Lafreniere said when asked what he believes are his greatest assets. “My leadership is something that’s really big for me, but I would say my strength is playing offensively. That’s where I think I’m at my best and my biggest strength.”
Wait until David Quinn tells him he needs to improve away from the puck.
But listen. The Rangers, who did finish 18th-overall in the standings and who have missed the playoffs the past three years, are in no way unworthy winners of this lottery. This is a team that refused to tank last year and was rewarded for it by moving up to second-overall in the lottery, where it was able to grab Kaapo Kakko. This is a team that earned an invite to the 24-team cotillion. This is a team painstakingly trying to do this methodically while always being willing to flex its financial muscle when that’s an option.
No. 2 last year in the draft selection, No. 1 this year. That is not the objective, but that is the reality. What? Pittsburgh, Edmonton or Toronto should have come away with the first-overall?
Sorry, but no. It’s the Rangers, who recorded the biggest August victory in the history of the franchise.
NHL Draft lottery results 2020
1. New York Rangers
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks)
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. Minnesota Wild
10. Winnipeg Jets
11. Nashville Predators
12. Florida Panthers
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs)
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Pittsburgh Penguins*
- The Penguins have seven days to determine whether they want to send the No. 15 pick to the Minnesota Wild, as per the conditions of a prior trade.