The New York Rangers suffered some poor lottery luck when the 2026 NHL Draft order was announced. Rather than drafting in the top three picks like they would have if the status quo was maintained, the Rangers fell to the fifth overall pick. This draft has certain tiers to it, and to me, there’s a top four tier that the Rangers are just missing out on. That tier includes in no specific order: Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid, and Caleb Malholtra. But this can be rectified with a hopefully aggressive Chris Drury looking to trade for the 2nd overall pick.
As it currently stands, the belief is that the Toronto Maple Leafs will take Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick. While he would have been a great fit for the Rangers, it’s okay that they won’t get him. The Rangers should target the 2nd overall pick, as it’s clear San Jose needs defensemen and they may be willing to drop down a few spots to get a top defender in the draft while also adding another key asset to their roster.
Though for the Rangers to accomplish this, they need Mike Grier to be willing to pass on Ivar Stenberg, the second best player in the draft, to address his blue line needs. While Stenberg is considered the second best player in the draft, the Sharks would be drafting a player who might be awkward fit on their roster. This has led to rumors that the Sharks will select Chase Reid or trade the pick.
With the latter set of rumors, one proposed trade stuck out to me: The Rangers would acquire the 2nd overall pick from San Jose in exchange for Braden Schneider, the 5th overall pick, and at least one of their four 3rd round picks. It’s something that’s been discussed on Live From the Blue Seats a few times, and the more it’s talked about, the more it makes sense.
As mentioned above, the Sharks would get a strong defense prospect, as there are plenty of top defensemen available in the top five picks. They’d also get a young right defenseman in Schneider whom they have coveted for a long time. This helps San Jose’s desire to turn the corner from rebuilding to competing for a playoff spot.
The Rangers would get to choose their own destiny in the draft while saving cap space by letting Schneider go. Suddenly, the Rangers could get that elite talent they so desperately need in Stenberg, or they could jump in front of Vancouver, who appears likely to take Malhotra. Both would be solid picks at second overall and address significant team needs.
An added layer of the Rangers trading up to the 2nd overall pick that hasn’t been discussed much is that the Canucks could be enticed to trade with the Rangers if they feel the Blueshirts might steal Malhotra from them. It seems pretty clear that Vancouver wans Caleb Malhotra, and if they feel the Rangers might take him with the 2nd overall pick, then they could be enticed to swap the second and third picks so that they could draft Malhotra. But this would require some creativity that we haven’t seen out of Chris Drury or any other NHL GM.
There is a huge difference in being able to pick second and fifth in the draft. This draft appears to have a tier that cuts off after the first four players. New York desperately needs a star in this draft, and this would be the best way to acquire such a player.
Very few top five picks are ever traded in the NHL these days, but it’s time for it to happen again. San Jose and New York have a great relationship, and Chris Drury must lean on that to acquire the second pick.