Though the Rangers currently hold the third overall pick, it is very likely they move down to fourth overall of fifth overall once the draft lottery is finished. Outside of Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, projected to go 1-2 in the draft, there is no general consensus on picks 3-10. There are several names that keep popping up, but it does appear that picks 3-5 are widely considered to be three of the top defensemen on the board. Depending on how things shake out, could the Rangers trade down at the 2026 draft?
No consensus pick
The big name defensemen are Chase Reid (RD), Carson Carels (LD), Keaton Verhoeff (RD), and Alberts Smits (LD). All four are projected to go in the top ten, and there’s a solid chance they represent picks 3-6, though perhaps not in the order listed.
The “big three” centers on the board–Tynan Lawrence, Viggo Bjorck, and Caleb Malhotra–are all over the place in rankings., especially Lawrence and Bjorck. Only Malhotra consistently shows up in the top-10 in rankings.
It’s a very weird draft after McKenna and Stenberg, which presents many options for teams in this range, including the option for the Rangers to trade down.
It’s rare for a team to move out of the top ten
No matter how many times we hear rumblings about teams moving up or down at the draft, it’s exceedingly rare for teams in the top ten to move in or out of their spots *on draft day.* The last team to do it was in 2021, when Vancouver sent the 9th overall pick to Arizona in a deal centered around Oliver Ekman-Larsson. That pick wound up being Dylan Guenther.
Funny enough, the Rangers were another team to successfully move into the top-ten on draft day in 2017, sending Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona for the 7th overall pick (Lias Andersson). The Rangers also made a pair of trades to move into the top-ten in 1999, one of them being a move into the top-five, the last team to do so on draft day.
The common denominator in all of these trades is they involved young roster players, not extra draft picks. These trades were not made in a traditional trade up/trade down scenario, so if the Rangers trade down or out of the top-five, it would likely include a young roster player coming to New York.
If the Rangers trade down, there are options
That said, there are some interesting options for the Rangers to trade down. Young roster players are always the fastest way to make it work, but there are other interesting scenarios that could factor in trading down.
St. Louis currently has the 11th and 15th overall picks. If the Rangers are sitting at 5th overall and staring at Keaton Verhoeff, who is not a swift skater who fits a need for the Rangers, do they reach for a center? Does St. Louis come calling, offering both picks for the 5th overall?
Does San Jose come calling to flip the 9th and William Eklund for Braden Schneider and the 5th overall, should the Rangers drop that far after the lottery?
What if Seattle moves down from sixth overall to seventh overall, and the Rangers are sitting pretty at third overall. Does Seattle offer Shane Wright and the 7th overall for both of the Rangers’ 1st rounders?
Should the Rangers trade down, there are some intriguing options if GMs start to actually get creative. Therein lies the rub: NHL GMs are anything but creative. It’s highly unlikely the Rangers trade down, even if a fun package like the San Jose or Seattle examples fall into their lap.