On Tuesday, the New York Rangers announced that they would give the Pittsburgh Penguins their 12th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft instead of sending them their 2026 pick.
The decision officially completed the last leg of the trade that brought J.T. Miller to the Big Apple back in January, as that conditional first-rounder was sent to the Vancouver Canucks for Miller, and the Canucks sent it to the Penguins in a trade for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor.
There was no telling what the Rangers were going to decide to do with the pick. Because the team is likely trying to win next season – the decision to hire former Penguins' bench boss Mike Sullivan amplifies that – many thought that New York would keep the first-rounder for this season and defer the Penguins' pick to 2026.
But, taking a deeper dive into this, it's a decision that actually makes sense for both sides.
Penguins Receive Rangers' 2025 First-Round PickThe Pittsburgh Penguins will now officially have two first-round picks for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Why it makes sense for the Rangers
It's no secret that team morale is questionable in New York, as a tumultuous, disappointing season full of ups, downs, controversy, and coaching/managerial blunders buried the team.
To many, the decision to keep the 2026 pick as opposed to the 2025 pick may appear to be a sign that the team does not have much confidence it can compete in 2025-26. After all, the 2026 draft – by all accounts – is deeper than the 2025 draft, and if the Rangers fall into lottery range next season, they should be able to draft a game-changer.
But that's likely not the thought process behind this move.
The biggest reason keeping the 2026 pick makes sense for the Rangers is because it gives them flexibility. That pick would be a very valuable piece at the 2026 trade deadline as much as it would be a valuable draft slot.
The Rangers' Thought Process Behind Keeping Their 2026 First-Round PickThere’s one major reason the New York Rangers decided to send their 2025 12th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins and keep their 2026 first-round pick.
Depending on how the season goes and where the Rangers find themselves in the standings pre-deadline, having next year's pick provides options. If they are contending, they can package the 2026 first-rounder for immediate help in a good player. And – if they are biting the dust – they could have a lottery pick.
Sure, there's a decent chance – if they hit the right buttons this summer – that the Rangers' pick next season will not be as high as 12, which risks diminishing the value of the pick rankings-wise. However, it's a risk worth taking, especially since the talent in the 16-20 range of the 2026 draft will likely compare to the 10-14 range in this season's.
All in all, this was probably the right decision for the Rangers to make.
Why it makes sense for the Penguins
Would it have been nice for the Penguins to, potentially, have an extra lottery ticket in the 2026 Gavin McKenna draft? Absolutely.
But, realistically, that was unlikely to happen, anyway. The Rangers will, more than likely, be trying to make the playoffs next season – perhaps even more so than other teams sitting in the mid-range of the East – and the pick probably would not have been top-five.
And having the chance to draft twice in the top-12 this year is no small thing for the Penguins.
It has been widely discussed how the Penguins are one of the few – and, possibly, the only – team in full-out selling mode right now. There is a pretty good possiblity that the team will be close to McKenna range next season, anyway, even without the Rangers' pick.
Report: Penguins Only 'True Sellers' On NHL MarketWith the NHL Draft and free agency approaching fast, the NHL trade market is beginning to come into focus.
But, despite all of the narratives around the Penguins being sellers, that doesn't mean they intend on being sellers for the foreseeable future. Much of the discourse in Pittsburgh is about the team being in the lottery discussion for the next several years.
In reality, that won't necessarily be the case. Penguins' POHO and GM Kyle Dubas – as well as new head coach Dan Muse – have reiterated that the goal is to get Pittsburgh back to contention as urgently as possible. The pattern they've been following for the past year-plus is to acquire near-NHL ready prospect talent like Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen – and they are now interested in acquiring young NHL talent – and those moves are not indicative of an organization that doesn't plan to be competitive for at least another five years.
'I Couldn't Be More Excited To Get Started Here': 3 Takeaways From Dan Muse's Introductory Press Conference As Penguins' Head CoachOn Wednesday, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas formally introduced Dan Muse as the 23rd head coach in franchise history at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pittsburgh should be able to draft two high-end talents this year, which means that they'll be getting their hands on talent that will be able to help them sooner timeline-wise. Having the extra pick also gives them the flexibility and option to move up in the draft order if they want to, which would give them a chance to select a player who could see NHL ice more immediately.
There is talent in the top-15 of this draft, and the Penguins will select two of them, whether that's at 11th and 12th overall or somewhere else, should something change on draft day. They'll take that and run with it, as Dubas's hockey operations department has done a fine job drafting up to this point.
Either outcome would have been a winning scenario for the Penguins, but it's obviously welcome sooner rather than later.
Can The Penguins Trade Up For Blackhawks' Third Overall Pick?It has been rumored that the Pittsburgh Penguins would like to trade up in the 2025 NHL Draft.
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Feature image credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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