Reliving Rangers: Hockey world screams rigged as Blueshirts win 2020 Draft Lottery

The next installment is fitting! The NHL Draft Lottery was conducted in two phases last season, with a place holder team winning the first drawing. The next drawing was to see which eliminated Return to Play team would win the first overall pick.

Well, that second drawing lived up to the excitement on Broadway. As the balls went into the machine and came up…

New York Rangers

Alexis Lafrenière is a New York Ranger

Alexis Lafreniere was born on October 11, 2001 in the town of Saint-Eustache, Canada. At an early age, he seemed to excel and looked destined to be a top draft pick in the NHL. The kid has all the makings to be an elite player in the league and has been under the microscope for years.

The term “generational talent” is sometimes overused when talking about potential first round picks but Lafreniere has a chance to be exactly that. Is he the next Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid, it’s unlikely but during a very difficult season he showed why he was so highly touted. 

The 19 year-old finished his first NHL season with 12 goals and 9 assists for 21 points in all 56 games the team played. Whenever he notched a point the Blueshirts would usually win going 14-4-0, and if he scored a goal it was 9-2-0.* By the end of the year, Lafrenière cemented himself as a top six winger and the future will only get brighter.

*Stats from NYR Media Guide

New York Rangers win rigged lottery?

new york rangers draft lottery
Conspiracy theorists say lottery rigged for the Rangers (NBCSN)

While New York Rangers fans reveled in the excitement of picking first overall for the first time since 1965, conspiracy theorists were out it in full force.

Yes folks, the hashtag #Rigged was trending on Twitter as soon as they won. The reason being that during the lottery, as the balls were being verified by Gary Bettman, it was dropped early and then picked up and dropped again.

No, no, no…it’s not because the guy accidentally dropped it too soon before Bettman could verify it. No, it was because the ball was weighted? Yes…that’s it.

Enjoy it Blueshirt Faithful. Eat it up. Eat it all up.

Of course, there were those that made sure to bring a dose of reality.

Enjoy hearing from Alexis himself after learning he was going to the Blueshirts.

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Anthony Scultore is the founder of Forever Blueshirts and has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL... More about Anthony Scultore

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