The NHL Draft Lottery was kind to the New York Rangers, a team looking to accelerate their rebuild as fast as possible. And on Friday, they'll be selecting No. 2 overall in Vancouver. 

And with that pick, it's almost certain that it will be Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko, who many view as the second-best prospect in the Draft behind United States C Jack Hughes. 

If the mock drafts and speculation hold true, the Rangers will be getting Kakko - a 6-foot-2, aggressive player that has the potential to go down in history as one of the best to come out of Finland. 

NHL DRAFT DETAILS

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Round 1: Friday, June 21 at 8 p.m.; TV: NBCSN
Rounds 2-7: Saturday, June 22 at 1 p.m.; TV: NHL Network

PICKS

No. 2 (First Round)
No. 20 (First Round, via Winnipeg)
No. 49 (Second Round, via Dallas)
No. 58 (Second Round, via Tampa Bay)
No. 68 (Third Round)
No. 112 (Fourth Round, via Columbus)
No. 130 (Fifth Round)
No. 161 (Sixth Round)
No. 205 (Seventh Round, via Columbus)

After the Jets bungled the process a bit, the Rangers swooped in and traded for star defenseman Jacob Trouba on Monday night -- and got him for a price that most saw as very low.

That price was Neal Pionk and the No. 20 pick in the upcoming NHL draft.

On a conference call Tuesday morning, Trouba talked about the "shock" of getting traded, said he "couldn't be more excited" to be on the Rangers, and talked about his future.

The acquisition of Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets represents the start of a new era on Broadway. No longer will the Blueshirts be hoping the ping pong balls fall in their direction during the draft lottery. Rather, they are planning to be battling for playoff positioning as the season winds down next spring.

Trouba will immediately become the top-pairing right-handed defenseman in the Rangers lineup.

"He is a big defenseman, he is 25 years old, can play against the best players, has offense, can kill penalties, and is in the prime of his career," Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said as he raved about Trouba's skill set. "The opportunity for a player like that to become available doesn't happen all the time, we jumped on it."

The Rangers acquired Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba for defenseman Neal Pionk and the No. 20 pick in the NHL draft, the team announced Monday.

Trouba, 25, is a restricted free agent who recorded eight goals, 42 assists and 50 points for Winnipeg last season, scoring 18 points on power plays.

"He's in the prime of his career ... we jumped on it," Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said.

The Rangers are aggressively pursuing a trade for Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba, according to the New York Post, but they're not alone.

The rival Islanders and Devils are also in the mix for Trouba, per the Post. 

Trouba, a 25-year-old righty, is a restricted free agent who's been the subject of trade rumors for quite some time. With the Jets facing a cap issues, a Trouba trade might finally happen this offseason. The NHL Draft is next weekend and free agency starts on July 1, so it could happen sooner than later.

There is recent precedent for the Rangers buying out a player to save some cap space, a longtime warrior at that. They bought out Dan Girardi's contract two years ago, and they could very well go the buyout route for at least one player this summer when the buyout period opens on Saturday.

"In all honesty, we haven't ruled it out," Rangers GM Jeff Gorton told the New York Post. "It's on the table. And regardless of what we do with this buyout window, we'd certainly look at the second one, too, depending on what comes up over the next few weeks. A lot can happen."

As the Post reports, Brendan Smith and Kevin Shattenkirk are the two big buyout candidates for the Blueshirts. Are there others? Let's take a look at whom the Rangers might buy out as they prepare for an important summer.

It's every young athlete's dream to play for the team he or she grew up rooting for.

For Adam Fox, that dream has become reality.

The 21-year-old defenseman signed with the Rangers this offseason after three years at Harvard, and his new boss has big things in mind for him.

The New York Rangers enter the NHL offseason in one of the best positions: They have money to spend, and are a prime free agent destination.

Some of the game's biggest names, like Erik Karlsson and Artemi Panarin, have already been linked to the Rangers before free agency begins on July 1. The team also scored a major victory in the draft lottery and will get to select a franchise player with the second overall pick.

While the Rangers are expected to be finalists for either Panarin or Karlsson this summer, that doesn't mean they should be done shopping. They have many prospects gunning for spots, but it is a little bit of proven veteran goal scoring that has a way of coming up clutch in the Stanley Cup playoffs-just look at Justin Williams and Patrick Maroon in this year's postseason.

It wouldn't have mattered which team had the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft. Jack Hughes just wants to be the first player taken.

"You always dream of being No. 1," Hughes told reporters Friday at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. "You don't dream of being two, three or four when you're a young kid."

But the 18-year-old American center isn't about to ruffle any feathers. Asked whether he'd look better in red or blue, with the Devils and Rangers holding the top two picks in the NHL Draft, Hughes said, "I think I'd look good in either."

It was a rough season for the NHL's Hudson River Rivalry.

The Devils took a huge step back after making the playoffs in 2017-18, their 72 points the third-fewest in the league, while the Rangers were only six points better as they embarked on their first full season of their rebuild.

But next month's NHL Draft represents an opportunity for both teams to add a potential game-changing prospect, as the Devils hold the No. 1 pick with the Rangers picking right after at No. 2. American center Jack Hughes and Finnish wing Kaapo Kakko should be the top-two picks in some order, with Hughes long pegged as the top prospect in this draft class. 

With John Davidson set to make his first draft selection as president of the Rangers next month, Kaapo Kakko being available at No. 2 is becoming more and more tantalizing. 

The 18-year-old showed out for Team Finland, which captured the gold medal, at the IHF World Championship this past month. Finland bested Canada, 3-1, in the championship match Monday. 

Kaako poured in six goals, leading the team, and added an assist during the team's championship run, which capped an historic 13-month stretch for him. He became the sixth player ever to win an U-18 world championship, world junior championship and men's world championship. 

Although no New York-area teams made it to the Stanley Cup Final this year, the Empire State will still have a large impact on hockey's grandest stage. Twelve players from the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues have connections with the New York metro area in some way, so local fans still have plenty of reasons to tune in.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins have one of the largest collections of American-born hockey players of any team in the NHL. Not surprisingly, several of them have called New York home for at least part of their careers.

Twenty-five years ago today, Mark Messier immortalized himself in Rangers history. 

The Blueshirts captain scored a hat trick in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, backing up his bold prediction from the day before that the Rangers would beat the Devils and force a Game 7.

Messier's goals all came in the third period and included the game-tying and go-ahead goals in the 4-2 road victory at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. 

John Davidson's years as a goaltender and broadcaster for the Rangers made him a natural fit for their president vacancy. But beyond his connections to the franchise, Davidson comes with the experience of rebuilding franchises in St. Louis and Columbus as the Rangers go through a remodeling of their own.

No situation is the same, but as Davidson embarks on the next chapter of his career, it's worth examining the moves he made at his previous two stops to help bring the Blues back to prominence and give the Blue Jackets their first taste of sustained competitiveness.

ST. LOUIS

The Rangers welcomed back new president John Davidson on Wednesday with a press conference at the Hulu Theater at MSG. Here are five takeaways from the press conference:

A Dream Come True

It's obvious how much returning to New York means to Davidson, the former Rangers goaltender and broadcaster beloved by the fan base. 

"Dreams do come true," Davidson said.

Here we go again with the Rangers and Erik Karlsson.

After being linked to the star defenseman when the Senators were looking to trade him last offseason, despite the fact they weren't actually in on him, the Rangers are considered "a favorite" and "probably the most likely destination" for Karlsson in free agency this summer, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. 

Johnston addressed Karlsson's future during a Thursday radio interview with Sportsnet 960 The FAN in Calgary. Because the Rangers have cap space and the No. 2 pick in this year's NHL Draft, there's speculation that the Blueshirts could try to accelerate their rebuild.

The Rangers have signed Russian defenseman Yegor Rykov to a two-year entry-level contract, according to TVA Sports and The Athletic.

According to both reports, the contract has an out clause which would allow 22-year-old, who had been playing for HC Sochi, to return to the KHL if he wishes.

Rykov was acquired from the Devils at the 2018 trade deadline as part of a package the Rangers received in exchange for Michael Grabner. The Rangers used the second-round pick acquired in that trade to move up four spots to No. 22 in the 2018 NHL Draft to select K'Andre Miller. The Devils took Rykov in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

Time will tell whether the Devils thinking highly enough of Kaapo Kakko to take him over long-presumed No. 1 NHL Draft pick Jack Hughes, but Kakko's emergence over the last year has at least made it a debate.

And Kakko thinks it can happen, especially as he dominates in the IIHF World Championship.

"This is a big thing for me for the draft," Kakko told NHL.com through a translator. "I think I can be the first (pick)."

The New York Rangers are about to hire John Davidson as their new team president. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Friday that Davidson had submitted his resignation as president of hockey operations after being granted permission to speak to the Rangers about serving as their team president. 

"Personally, I want to thank J.D. for his friendship and the many contributions that he and his wife, Diana, have made to the Blue Jackets and throughout our community," Blue Jackets president Mike Priest said in a statement

The NHL Draft gets more interesting by the day.

Because the more Kaapo Kakko plays in the IIHF World Championship, the more he impresses, adding intrigue to the Devils' decision on whom to select first overall.  

The Finnish wing, who will go to the Rangers at No. 2 if the Devils take American center Jack Hughes at No. 1, scored a beauty of a goal on Thursday for his sixth goal of the tournament.

The Rangers announced on Thursday that Jim Schoenfeld, the team's senior vice president and assistant general manager, had stepped down after 17 years with the organization. This comes on the heels of Glen Sather walking away as team president.

"In nearly two decades with the Rangers, Jim made an impact on every level of the organization," Sather, who will transition to a senior advisor role once a new president is hired, said in a press release. "His tireless efforts and contributions were vital to the extended run of success we experienced during his tenure in New York."

The tournament is only two days old, but Kaapo Kakko is already the talk of the IIHF World Championship.

The 18-year-old Finnish wing scored a hat trick Saturday in Finland's 4-2 win over Slovakia, giving him five goals after he scored two in the team's opener on Friday.

Kakko's first of the game was a long one-timer. He showed brilliant hands on his second goal before adding an empty-netter.

It appears as if there could be a good ol' New York vs. New Jersey battle for Finnish hockey phenom Kaapo Kakko. 

Many expect the 18-year-old forward to go second overall to the Rangers, but perhaps it is too early to count out the Devils just yet.  

Kakko scored an impressive goal at the IIHF Worlds on Friday, grabbing the puck on a breakaway while a defender attempted to trip him from behind. Kakko escaped free of the defender's stick while also deking out the goalie to sneak the puck past him. 

When the clip of the goal surfaced on Twitter, the Rangers tweeted out the eyeball emoji while the Devils tweeted out a double eyes emoji along with a gif of the goal five minutes later. 

Now that the Stars have been eliminated from the playoffs, speculation is already running rampant about what the future holds for former Rangers fan favorite Mats Zuccarello, whom the Rangers traded to Dallas at this year's deadline.

The Blueshirts missed out on getting Dallas' 2019 first-round pick by a goal as the Stars lost to the Blues in double overtime of Game 7 Tuesday night. Instead, the Rangers will get the Stars' second-rounder. However, if Zuccarello re-signs with the Stars, the 2020 third-round pick New York got from Dallas will become a first-rounder.

Based on what Zuccarello had to say about the matter Thursday, it seems the Blueshirts may luck out with next year's NHL Draft.

Now that the Columbus Blue Jackets have officially been eliminated from the playoffs, the Rangers can move forward with their offseason plans. 

The Rangers had narrowed their search for a new president to John Davidson, the current president of the Blue Jackets and former Rangers goalie and broadcaster. 

Davidson is believed to have a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave his position and the Rangers are expected to put in an official request soon, according to Larry Brooks of The Post. 

A Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a must-watch for hockey fans. But Tuesday night's Game 7 between Dallas and St. Louis in the Western Conference semifinals will have significant implications for the Rangers and one of their ex-players. 

A Stars win would not only send former fan favorite Mats Zuccarello to the next round, but it'd convert the second round pick the Rangers traded him for earlier this year into a first-rounder. 

Zuccarello suffered a broken arm during his first game with the Stars, but returned for the team's playoff run. In the first round, he was a pivotal part of Dallas' upset over Nashville, scoring three goals. 

Those intrigued by the Rangers holding the second overall selection in this year's NHL Draft are already becoming familiar with the name Kaapo Kakko. 

The Finnish 18-year-old is widely expected to be drafted No. 2 overall -- behind Jack Hughes. And fans will have a chance to get a feel for his game throughout May. He'll be in action over the course of the next few weeks for Team Finland at the 2019 International Hockey Federation World Championships in Slovakia. 

Finland announced its full roster Monday. 

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist sounded awfully unsure of his future with the Rangers before quickly clarifying his comments. 

The 37-year-old, who has two years remaining on his contract, told the Swedish newspaper Expressen, "I don't know if I'll stay with the Rangers my entire career." 

"I have two years left on my deal and it has always been my goal to stay with the Rangers, but once you get up there in age you never know," he said.

The Rangers signed two former draft picks, including 2018 first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov, to entry-level contracts.

Kravtsov, a 19-year-old forward, has played with the KHL's Traktor Chelyabinsk for the past three years, scoring eight goals and recording 13 assists in 50 games this past season.

New York drafted Kravtsov, a 6-foot-4, 183-pound right winger, ninth overall last year. He made the KHL All-Star Game last season and won Bronze with Team Russia at the U20 World Junior Championship earlier this year.

Adam Fox could make his Broadway debut as soon as this fall.

What was a formality once the Rangers acquired his rights this week became official on Thursday as Fox signed his entry-level contract. Assuming the 21-year-old is as advertised during training camp, he could be on the Blueshirts' NHL roster on opening night.

Adam Fox is headed home. 

The Jericho, New York native and former Harvard standout has been traded from the Hurricanes to the Rangers for a second round pick in this year's draft and a conditional third-rounder in 2020.  

Fox wrapped up his collegiate career last month with the Crimson, where he was a three-year starter and scored 116 points during his tenure. In 2018-19, he had nine goals and 39 assists. The 21-year-old also served as an alternate captain on the 2018 U.S. World Junior Championships team and was a member of the gold-medal winning group the year prior. 

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was named a finalist for the 2019-19 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced on Tuesday. 

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded to a player who "best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and have made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

The winner of the award is chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. 

The Rangers appear to be moving toward hiring John Davidson to replace Glen Sather as the team's president, according to Larry Brooks of The Post. 

Davidson, 66, is currently the president of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who just unexpectedly swept the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Rangers would have to wait until the Blue Jackets are out of the playoffs before they can hire Davidson, though.

Former Rangers coach Alain Vigneault is back in the NHL, and his old team is going to be seeing plenty of him.

Vigneault was named the new coach of the Flyers on Monday after sitting out the 2018-19 season. It was Philadelphia where Vigneault coached his final game with the Blueshirts last season, getting fired by Jeff Gorton just hours after the season finale when the team returned to New York.

"It is an honor to be selected as the next head coach of the Flyers," Vigneault said in a release. "The history they have established and the passionate fan base has made this a first-class franchise. I am excited to work with Chuck (Fletcher,) the talented group of players and prospects coming up through the system, in order to return Philadelphia to the top of the NHL landscape."

The probable top two picks in the 2019 NHL Draft have topped NHL Central Scouting's final rankings lists.

American center Jack Hughes is ranked No. 1 on Central Scouting's list of North American skaters, while Finnish wing Kaapo Kakko is ranked No. 1 on its list of International skaters. 

The Rangers drew the No. 2 pick in the June draft during last week's NHL Draft Lottery, while the Devils came away with the No. 1 pick. Hughes has long been considered the consensus No. 1 selection, but there's been recent talk of Kakko at least closing the gap on Hughes as far as who the top prospect is in this year's draft class after a strong season in the Finnish Liiga.

Winter is here.

With Game of Thrones set to return Sunday for its eighth and final season, New York athletes gave their predictions and talked about theories for how the saga will end.

Click below...

The ping pong balls went the Rangers' way Tuesday night, and by getting the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, they not only end up with their highest ever selection in the draft, but they're guaranteed to get a game-changing prospect for their rebuild.

They're likely to end up with Finnish right wing Kaapo Kakko, assuming the Devils select American standout Jack Hughes at No. 1. Those two players are the top tier of this upcoming draft class, with the consensus being that Kakko has the ability to be a star in the NHL.

Get to know the player who might accelerate the Rangers' path toward contention:

Record-setting season

The Rangers had their biggest win of 2019 on Tuesday night at the NHL Draft lottery. 

The Blueshirts, projected to have the sixth pick, jumped all the way to the second overall pick for the NHL Draft, which takes place on June 21 in Vancouver. 

The Rangers had a 23.3 percent chance of landing a top-three pick. They have never chosen within the top three picks under the current draft format. 

Come Tuesday night, the Rangers will be hoping the ping pong balls are bouncing their way. 

After a rebuilding effort that saw them finish seventh in the Metropolitan Division, the Rangers enter Tuesday night's NHL Draft lottery with the sixth-best odds of winning the No. 1 overall pick (7.5 percent). Additionally, the team owns a 23.3 percent chance of gaining a top three pick, according to tankathon.com. 

The Rangers sunk their odds with a meaningless overtime victory Saturday in Pittsburgh. 

Ending the season on a high note is surely a morale boost for the organization and its players. 

But the Rangers' 4-3 overtime victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday actually knocked the Blueshirts from fifth to sixth in the NHL Draft lottery draw, when they could have moved up to fourth had they lost in regulation to the Penguins. 

Instead, the meaningless victory means the Rangers now own a 7.5 percent chance of drawing the top pick in the lottery; they have not selected first overall since 1965. 

The Rangers capped their season with an overtime win over the Penguins, 4-3, on the road. >> Box score

First Period:

• 6:36 PIT Sidney Crosby: Assists: Jake Guentzel, Jared McCann
• 12:48 NYR Brendan Smith

The Rangers are out of the playoffs and relegated to setting a foundation for next season and playing a spoiler role.

Friday, New York lost its third straight but nearly prevented the Columbus Blue Jackets from clinching a playoff spot. The Rangers scored with seven seconds left in regulation before losing 3-2 in a shootout.

It seems likely that veteran Henrik Lundqvist will start in goal for the Rangers after Alexandar Georgiev started against the Blue Jackets.

The Rangers couldn't give the Madison Square Garden faithful one more win at home this season, falling to the Blue Jacets, 3-2, in a shootout >> Box score

First Period:

N/A

While the Blue Jackets are hoping Friday marks the beginning of a playoff run, the Rangers (31-36-13, 75 points) will be ending an era with their home finale.

The team announced Thursday that president Glen Sather will step down at the end of the season, though he will remain with the organization as a senior adviser.

Sather -- who built four Stanley Cup-winning teams as the Edmonton Oilers' general manager and head coach from 1977 through 1989 and then oversaw another Cup winner as general manager in 1990 -- was named the Rangers' president and general manager on July 1, 2000 and remained in both roles through the 2014-15 season. >> Read More

With Glen Sather stepping down as president of the Rangers on Thursday, the hunt is on for James Dolan & Co. to find his replacement. 

The search is reportedly on already, and one name that immediately comes to the forefront is Steve Yzerman. According to The Post's Larry Brooks, Yzerman is "amenable" to listening to the Rangers about the job. 

It is unknown if the Rangers have reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning to talk to Yzerman yet. He is currently in the final year of his contract as an advisor to the owner. He served as the team's general manager before holding this role, and played a key role in building the Lightning into the Eastern Conference powerhouse they are today.

Glen Sather was already a Hall of Famer before he arrived in New York as a 56-year-old on June 1, 2000, building and coaching the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s to four Stanley Cups and adding one more solely as an executive in 1989-90, two years after ownership forced the trade of Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles.

The cigar-chomping Sather is an iconic figure in NHL history, an undisputed giant of the game. His Rangers legacy is complicated.

For there is an unmistakable void in Sather's 19-year run with the Blueshirts, the first 15 of which were spent as both president and general manager before he ceded the GM title to Jeff Gorton, with a 90-game stint as coach across the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons sprinkled in.

Though he orchestrated one of the most memorable runs in franchise history during which the Rangers went to the playoffs 11 out of 12 years, the 75-year-old will step down as president and into an advisory role, as the club announced Thursday, without a Stanley Cup.

Rangers president Glen Sather is stepping down as the team's president, and will transition into a role as senior advisor to the owner and alternate governor, the team announced on Thursday. 

Sather, 75, has been team president since June 2000 and had also been New York's GM from 2000 to 2015 before he relinquished duties to Jeff Gorton.

Sather also coached the Rangers for 1 1/2 after he fired Bryan Trottier midway through the 2002-03 season.

The Rangers couldn't come back from the Senators' quick start in a 4-1 loss at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. >> Box score

First period:

• 12:14 OTT Bobby Ryan (Power Play); Assists: Chris Tierney, Brady Tkachuk
• 13:29 OTT Zach Smith (Short Handed); Assists: Magnus Paajarvi