The New York Rangers were the winners of Phase 2 of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery on Monday night and now own the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
It is expected that winger Alexis Lafreniere will be the top pick in this year’s class.
This is the second years in a row the Rangers have experienced a huge jump in the lottery after moving from the sixth spot to No. 2 where they selected Kaapo Kakko for the 2019 class.
All eight teams that were eliminated from the qualifying round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs were eligible for the top pick, each having an equal 12.5 percent chance of winning. The Rangers, who finished the regular season with the 18th best record in the league, were eliminated from the qualifying round when they were swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The first phase of the lottery was held in June and won by a placeholder team that was set to participate in the league’s qualifying round in the return to play, creating the need for the second phase of the lottery held on Monday.
The NHL draft will be held on October 9 and 10.
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This is what the first 15 picks in the draft will look like.
ROUND 1 ORDER
1. New York Rangers
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose)
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Buffalo Sabres
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9. Minnesota Wild
10. Winnipeg Jets
11. Nashville Predators
12. Florida Panthers
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto)
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (Or Minnesota Wild)
MORE:
• Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.