Rangers Fall to #5 in NHL Draft Lottery as Maple Leafs Steal #1 | Rink Rap LIVE from Mustang Harry's

About this episode

Jim Cerny and Lou Orlando discuss the Rangers' disappointing results in the NHL Draft Lottery and potential implications for the team's future.

Jim Cerny is live from Mustang Harry's in midtown Manhattan with Lou Orlando of Forever Blueshirts for instant reaction to the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery — and it didn't go the Rangers' way. Sitting on the third-best odds, the Blueshirts got leapfrogged twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs vaulted up to grab the No. 1 overall pick (saving Boston the Brandon Carlo trade pick in the process) and the San Jose Sharks landed No. 2. The Rangers slide all the way down to fifth. Jim and Lou break down what a top-five pick in a deep draft class actually means for a team that needs everything: Gavin McKenna goes to Toronto, Michael Misa or one of the top defensemen like Chase Reid and Jackson Smith become the realistic targets at five, and the conversation turns to whether Chris Drury should trade the pick for proven NHL talent — Brady Tkachuk, Jason Robertson, Pavel Dorofeyev, even a hypothetical Connor McDavid scenario after his frustrated end-of-season presser in Edmonton. Plus: where Will Cuylle really fits, the Braden Schneider trade fit in San Jose, and why "retool, not rebuild" isn't just semantics for James Dolan and the front office. #Rangers #NYR #NHLDraftLottery #RinkRap…

People in this episode

Host: Jim Cerny

Guest: Lou Orlando

Topics covered

• NHL Draft Lottery
• New York Rangers
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• NHL Draft
• player trades
• draft strategy

Keywords

• Rangers
• NHL Draft Lottery
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Chris Drury
• trades
• draft picks
• Brady Tkachuk
• Connor McDavid

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Forever Blueshirts, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston, San Jose Sharks

Places: Edmonton, Mustang Harry's

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