Albert Smits turns on one June 24 detail: the New York Rangers were actively trying to move up in the 2026 NHL Draft. David Pagnotta said that on Leafs Morning Take, and the Rangers’ search for a higher slot ran into a wall because the San Jose Sharks were not available as a trade partner.
Pagnotta said, "I talked to a couple people in San Jose...it sounds like Ivar Stenberg [at 2nd overall], defenseman [at 9th overall]; Stenberg's their guy; I know the Canucks are Rangers aren't too happy about it...they were trying to move up," and the two picks at issue were Nos. 2 and 9. That leaves New York looking at a draft board where the cleanest route upward was already blocked.
Pagnotta on Leafs Morning Take
The report matters because it ties the Rangers to a specific target area rather than a vague desire to improve. New York was trying to move up, and the timing was June 24, when offseason maneuvering can still reshape a draft board before the 2026 NHL Draft arrives.
The Rangers have not made a major offseason trade yet, and the draft pursuit points to where the pressure sits. If a move up never materializes, the front office may have to work from its existing position instead of forcing access to the top of the board.
San Jose Sharks at Nos. 2 and 9
The complication is simple. The San Jose Sharks were the target both teams were chasing, but they were locked into the Nos. 2 and 9 selections, which removed them from the kind of trade discussion New York wanted. With Stenberg described as their guy at No. 2 and a defenseman at No. 9, the lane for an easy swap narrowed fast.
That matters for the Rangers because the move-up guess is not random. The report said it could be presumed New York was trying to secure Caleb Malhotra, the clear No. 1-ranked center in this year's draft class, and the team does not have a single center prospect projected to get NHL minutes this upcoming season.
If the Rangers stay at No. 5, the draft still gives them a path to a center, but the leverage changes. If they do not solve that need there, the expectation is that they will target forward help with the No. 26 pick and beyond, a different kind of bet that asks later picks to cover the gap left by the missed trade-up.
The price of moving up has also climbed around the league, with teams willing to pay high prices this offseason. That leaves Chris Drury with a choice that looks less like a wish list and more like roster math: force the top end of the draft, or use the picks already in hand to patch a center pipeline that is still thin.
