According to multiple reports — and first reported by Larry Brooks of the New York Post — the New York Rangers informed the League on Tuesday that they will send the No. 12 pick in this year's NHL Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins to complete the J.T. Miller trade from Jan. 31.
The Rangers had until Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET — 48 hours before the draft commenced Friday — to decide whether to send this year's first-rounder to the Penguins or their 2026 unprotected first-round pick. Next year's draft is considered to be much deeper and with more high-end talent available, so the Rangers are counting on landing a better prospect, even if they select later than No. 12, which was their draft slot this year.
The fact that next year's pick wasn't protected in any way likely factored into the equation for the Rangers, too. If the Rangers finished in the draft lottery again after this upcoming season, and the Penguins held that pick, it could've been a complete mess on several fronts for the Blueshirts.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that the Rangers could trade their way back into this year's draft. Trade rumors are heating up with K'Andre Miller, and it's possible that a first-round pick could be part of a return package. It'd probably behoove the Rangers more to land young prospects at the NHL level, or just about ready to crack the NHL, in a possible Miller trade than to land a pick in this year's draft, unless it's in say, the top 10 or so.
The Penguins now will make consecutive picks Friday with the Nos. 11 and 12 selections in the first round. They acquired the Rangers' top-13 protected first-round pick from the Vancouver Canucks when they traded away defenseman Marcus Pettersson . Vancouver acquired that pick the day before from New York along with Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini in exchange for J.T. Miller and defenseman prospect Jackson Dorrington.
Since it was top-13 protected, the Rangers had the right to retain this year's pick since they landed 12th overall in the draft lottery, dropping one spot. The Islanders won the draft lottery, moving up from the No. 10 pick, and are expected to select defenseman Matthew Schafer first overall Friday.
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Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
The Rangers have eight picks in this year's draft. Barring any moves, they will be on the clock with the 11th pick in the second round (No. 43 overall). They haven't had a second-round pick since 2022, when they selected forward Adam Sykora . Coincidentally, that was also the last time the Rangers didn't have a first-round selection.
After a four-year stretch from 2013-16 without a first-round pick, the Rangers had at least one first-rounder in seven of the next eight drafts, up until this year. They had multiple first-round selections in 2017 ( Lias Andersson , Filip Chytil), 2018 (Vitaly Kravtsov, K'Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist ) and 2020 ( Alexis Lafreniere , Braden Schneider ).
Last year, the Rangers selected defenseman EJ Emery in the first round, No. 30 overall. He'll be a sophomore at North Dakota this upcoming season.
The Rangers have at least one selection in Rounds 2-7 this year, including two picks in the third and sixth rounds.
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