Rangers win the right to draft No. 1

The New York Rangers won the second phase of the NHL Draft lottery, giving them a shot at selecting forward Alexis Lafreniere.

The Rangers were among eight teams that lost in the qualifying round of the playoffs with a chance to claim quite a consolation prize on Monday night. The Rangers have the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since 1965 when they selected Andre Veilleux.

The league was forced to make a lot of changes after the [...]

The New York Rangers won the second phase of the NHL Draft lottery, giving them a shot at selecting forward Alexis Lafreniere.

The Rangers were among eight teams that lost in the qualifying round of the playoffs with a chance to claim quite a consolation prize on Monday night. The Rangers have the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since 1965 when they selected Andre Veilleux.

The league was forced to make a lot of changes after the COVID-19 pandemic paused the season and the lottery was turned into a two-phase process.

The league's bottom seven teams had their seasons concluded on March 12. Those teams also ended up not winning the lottery in June. The Los Angeles Kings landed the No. 2 pick overall.

The winning placeholder team, which became the Rangers, got the top pick despite a 12.5% chance.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the process was fair because the eight teams that were in the expanded playoffs would have had a chance to win the lottery if the pandemic didn't alter the season.

Ottawa ended up with the third selection overall as part of the 2018 Erik Karlsson trade with San Jose along with the fifth pick overall. The league-worst Detroit Red Wings dropped to No. 4 in the first phase of the lottery.

The final 16 spots in the draft will be tied to postseason results.

While the Rangers would rather still be skating in the playoffs, they will have the rights to draft a player for a short- and long-term gain.

The sturdy, 6-foot-1 Lafreniere had 114 goals and 297 points in 173 games in the Quebec Major Junior League. The 18-year-old winger also captained Canada's gold medal-winning team and earned MVP honors at the world junior championships earlier this year.

Tallon fired by Panthers

The Florida Panthers will have a new general manager next season, making the announcement early Monday that Dale Tallon is leaving the franchise after 10 years.

Tallon's contract as president of hockey operations and general manager expired July 1, and was extended by Panthers owner Vincent Viola to get through the remainder of a season that was stretched out by the coronavirus pandemic. The Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, falling to the New York Islanders in four games.

That ouster, the end of yet another season of high expectations that didn't deliver as planned, sealed Tallon's fate. The team said it was a mutual decision for Tallon to leave.

"For the last decade, Dale raised the team's profile, attracted key players to South Florida and brought character and class to our franchise," Viola said. "When we purchased the Panthers in 2013, we did so with a singular goal — to win a Stanley Cup. We have not seen our efforts come to fruition. We will now begin an organizational search for the next General Manager."

"I would like to thank the South Florida fans and community for the last 10 years, and the Viola family for the last seven with this franchise," Tallon said. "I have had the opportunity to work with a group of first-class individuals, including a mentor of mine, the late William A. Torrey and I've had the privilege of watching the development of the organization's young talent who have become great players and even better people."

It's believed that the Panthers will look outside the organization for a new GM. Senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager Eric Joyce will likely continue to oversee the team's AHL club.

Hall of Fame induction postponed

The Hockey Hall of Fame has postponed its 2020 induction because of the pandemic. The ceremony was to have taken place Nov. 16 in Toronto.

The 2020 class was announced in June and featured forwards Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa, defensemen Kevin Lowe and Doug Wilson, Canadian women’s goaltender Kim St. Pierre and longtime general manager Ken Holland.

The Hall said it will discuss rescheduling plans on Oct. 29. Chairman Lanny McDonald said the most likely scenario is to have the ceremony in November 2021, either by waiving the 2021 election or combining the 2020 and 2021 classes. He said a virtual induction ceremony was ruled out.