from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

The Rangers’ fortunes have been scarcer than Ron Duguay hat tricks of late, but that changed in a New York minute Monday night when the ping-pong ball with the franchise’s logo popped out first in the final phase of the NHL’s draft lottery.

Luck be a Lafreniere tonight.

Unless general manager Jeff Gorton opts to deal the pick — highly unlikely — Quebec League winger Alexis Lafreniere, touted as a potential generational talent, will be in a Blueshirt whenever the 2020-21 season begins.

Of course, predicting Lafreniere’s rookie NHL scoring line (22-33—55 and 26 PIMs?) might be easier right now than calculating that NHL start date.

The Rangers remain the lone Original Six franchise never to pick No. 1 in the NHL Draft as we know it today, an endeavor that truly didn’t begin until June of 1969. That will change on Oct. 9, the first of the NHL’s two virtual draft days (tolled forward from what was supposed to be June 26-27 in Montreal).

For decades, including most of the ’60s, players’ NHL signing rights were assigned to clubs that sponsored their hockey teams, leagues or hometowns. Bobby Orr wound up sporting his No. 4 Boston sweater because the Bruins, instantly infatuated upon spotting him as a pre-teen, quickly shoveled a few bucks to sponsor the town of Parry Sound, Ontario, in order to secure his rights and then assign him to Oshawa.

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