If The NHL Used The Gold Plan, Rangers Would Draft First Overall
With the 2026 NHL season only days from completion, the playoff picture is almost complete.
At the top, the Colorado Avalanche secured the Presidents' Trophy last Thursday with their 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames.
At the bottom, the Vancouver Canucks were the first team officially eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup playoff race.
Rangers Post-Elimination Hot Streak Worthy Of Picking First
In an alternative universe, Rangers fans would be celebrating their team's performance after their elimination on March 25.
After their elimination, the Rangers won five of their next eight, accumulating 10 points. Four wins came in regulation.
Although the Canucks could conceivably equal the Rangers in points, the first tiebreaker in the Gold Plan is regulation wins, which would award the top spot to New York.
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The last time the Rangers picked first overall was in 2020. That season looked a bit different because of the COVID-19 pandemic ending the regular season early.
The first phase of the draw had eight placeholders in place because eight teams that were eliminated from the bubble playoff qualifiers would be eligible to win the lottery. One of those placeholders won the lottery for the first overall pick.
The Rangers lost their qualifier series 3-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes. They and all the other teams eliminated in the qualifiers had 12.5 percent odds of winning the placeholder pick for first overall, and they got it.
The Rangers used that top pick to select Alexis Lafreniere.
Lafreniere played a major role this season for the Rangers, including in their post-elimination run of wins.
He has 24 goals and 55 points through 80 games to sit second on the Rangers in scoring behind only Mika Zibanejad.
If the NHL used the Gold Plan, the duo would have soon been joined by McKenna or Stenberg. Instead, the Rangers will need to hope for the luck of the lottery.
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This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 1:31 PM.