Before the start of the 2024-25 season, the New York Rangers could be without all three of their top-10 draft picks that were made from 2017-19.
Yes, it’s entirely possible – perhaps even more likely than not – that the Blueshirts will part ways with Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, this summer after five seasons in which he became a solid possession driver and strong defensive player with excellent underlying metrics, but has failed to translate that into high-end offensive production. Due a new contract as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, general manager Chris Drury – who didn’t draft Kakko – might covet his salary slot to make potentially substantial changes to the roster.
If that proves to be the case, it would mean the Rangers’ run of four consecutive top-10 selections – one made all the more exciting for the franchise when the draft lottery ping-pong balls delivered back-to-back top-two picks – will have yielded only one high-end asset in Alexis Lafreniere, the No. 1 choice in 2020 who looks to be on his way to stardom after a breakout 2023-24 regular season and playoffs. The hit on the consensus top prospect in a draft, however, is hardly consolation for the missed opportunities the three years before that.
No team gets the draft right all the time – or even close to it – including the ones who are the most successful at player procurement. The Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, who have built an outstanding roster that’s in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year, certainly love bruising defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the first overall pick in 2014. Yet it’s hard to believe that give a second chance, they wouldn’t have selected forward Leon Draisaitl, who went third to the Edmonton Oilers that year and appears to be on a Hall of Fame track – and who will go head-to-head with Ekblad for the right to lift the Stanley Cup this month.
To miss on a potential elite prospect three times in a row comes with a cost, one that the Rangers have been starting to realize. So without further ado, let’s take a look at what could have been from that disappointing stretch:
Lias Andersson, 7th Overall, 2017
This pick came with great anticipation from fans and the organization, it being the Blueshirts’ first in the opening round of the draft since 2012. After trading away the previous four in deadline deals for the Cup-contending…
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