The puck drops on the 2025 NHL Draft next week. The event will take place in Los Angeles next Friday, and every team is completing their final preparations. For the New York Rangers, those preparations include deciding whether or not they will be making a selection in the first round.
The Rangers are in a very unique position. On January 31st, the team acquired forward J.T. Miller in a trade that sent their 2025 first round pick to the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks then sent this pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a pair of players. The pick, however, still belongs to the Rangers; at least for now.
The pick the Rangers sent away was top-13 protected. This means that if they wound up picking in the top-13, they could choose whether or not they wanted to to surrender their 2025 first round pick, or have the transaction pushed off till 2026.
Well, unfortunately for the Rangers, they finished in the bottom third of the league and earned themselves the 12th overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Now the front office has a decision to make, and just five days left to make it.
They are required to notify the Penguins 48 hours before the draft begins whether or not they will be using this years draft pick or trading it away. Should they choose to select on Friday, they will surrender their 2026 first round draft pick, no questions asked.
If New York Decides To Draft, They Cannot Utilize Offer Sheet
One dilemma the Rangers face in their decision making process is the utilization of the NHL’s offer sheet. If the Rangers choose to draft on Friday, they will be effectively trading their 2026 first round pick. This means, by rule, the Rangers will be unable to participate in the offseason offer sheet.
The offer sheet is essentially the trading block. It is designated for restricted free agents, and allows team’s to make offers to players and have those offers matched by their current teams. Should the teams choose not to match, they receive either the new teams first or third round pick.
The only caveat: to make an offer, you must control both your first and third round selections.
“The Rangers would keep the offer sheet possibility open if they forfeit their 2025 first-round pick, but they might also not have the cap space needed to sign someone in that salary range, especially if they don’t move out any other contracts. There’s a reason offer sheets aren’t standard: They’re hard to pull off,” wrote The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.
They Might Not Get A Pick This High Again
The main argument for the Rangers staying put on Friday is that, quite frankly, its a darn good pick. The Rangers haven’t had a pick this high in five years, when they drafted Alexis Lafreniere first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Last year, the Rangers made a deep playoff run and had one of the lowest picks in the first round. And if it was up to them, next year they’d like the same. This would mean that the 2026 first round pick is extremely less valuable then this years number 12.
So it’s a bit of a gamble, but it’s hard to knowingly surrender a top-13 selection.
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