NY Rangers' Pick Revealed in 2026 NHL Draft Lottery

The New York Rangers will now know where they will be drafting in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Apr 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to the media before game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at Delta Center. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers knew Tuesday night would be an important night, and that proved to be true. 

Coming into Tuesday, the Rangers were hopeful that they would be able to land one of the top picks in the NHL Draft following what was a really disappointing campaign. New York finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the third-worst record overall. 

The Rangers are a team that has some good veteran talent, but injuries and a terrible start resulted in them ending up being one of the worst teams in the league. Fortunately, there is reason to believe that the team can turn things around quickly. They have a ton of cap space to use this summer, and they knew coming into Tuesday that the first of their two first-round draft picks was guaranteed to be in the Top 5. 

While the team might be focused on finding a way to contend in the 2026-27 campaign, they now also know where they will be drafting in the 2026 NHL Draft. 

Rangers Land 5th Pick

We will have the 5th overall pick in the 2026 #NHLDraft❗️ pic.twitter.com/BJ9WFvnCES

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) May 5, 2026

With the NHL Draft starting on June 26th, it is going to be the Toronto Maple Leafs on the clock. They came in with the fifth-highest odds to get the top pick, and they are now on the clock. With some uncertainty surrounding the future of Auston Matthews, landing the first overall pick likely helps them convince him about the team’s outlook going forward. 

Even though the Rangers came in with the third-best odds to get the first overall pick, they saw two teams jump them into the Top 3. In addition to the Maple Leafs getting the first overall pick, the San Jose Sharks were also able to move up, grabbing the second overall selection. Due to the Vancouver Canucks not being able to drop any lower than third, that is where they will be selecting. Furthermore, it was then the Chicago Blackhawks coming in right before the Rangers at number four. 

While the odds were overwhelmingly in favor of New York having either the fourth or the fifth pick, it ended up being a bit of a disappointing night for the Rangers. They were undoubtedly hoping that they would be at least in the Top 3 following being the third-worst team in the league. 

With a couple of impact players in Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg slated to go first and second, it will be interesting to see where New York will look to go with the fifth overall pick.