Rangers currently up 2-0 in Game 7; A Rangers victory against the Canes would benefit the Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the postseason likely to pick at 28th overall, having finished the season in 4th place. However, thanks to series wins by Edmonton and Tampa, the Leafs have now been bumped up to the 26th overall pick.
The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of a deciding Game 7 in their series, with the winners moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals. If you're a Leafs fan, however, you should be rooting for the New York Rangers in this one, because if they happen to oust the Canes, the Leafs' 1st round pick becomes the 25th overall pick in the draft.
Obviously, there's not really a world of difference between selecting 25th or 28th on most occasions, but for the Leafs, who own just 3 picks in this year's draft, the higher their first round pick the better. If the Leafs are planning to trade down from their 1st rounder to secure some additional draft capital, the higher their first rounder ends up being, the better the return on their trade should they elect to move down - especially if there's a player remaining on the board that a team below them might covet.
At the time of writing this, the Rangers are up 2-0 after the first 20 minutes. If the Blueshirts can manage to avoid relinquishing their lead, Leafs fans will have something to cheer about, albeit something fairly miniscule - though I'm sure we'd give up all of this year's picks if it meant still having playoff life.
