Chris Drury walked into Day 1 of the 2026 NHL Draft with the New York Rangers already in motion, and the night started with a jolt. Before the club even made its fifth-overall selection, the Rangers landed elite goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev in a major trade with Vegas, setting the tone for a busy opening round as their retooling phase picked up speed.
Then the board broke in a way few expected.
When Buffalo took Daxon Rudolph at No. 4, it left Alberts Smits, Chase Reid and Keaton Verheoff sitting there for New York to choose from. That’s where the Rangers found themselves with a clean shot at a top prospect, and they went with the left-handed defenseman over the best player available.
That choice is already drawing scrutiny.
Smits should be a useful piece for the Rangers, and the hope is obvious: he becomes the long-sought defensive partner for Adam Fox. If that doesn’t happen, the pressure around the blue line only gets louder, because the organization still needs to build a real defensive core and a legitimate first pair.
But Reid was right there, and that’s the name that sticks. He brings speed, puck movement, and the kind of offensive touch that has made him look like one of the most NHL-ready defensemen in the draft, according to multiple accounts. Instead, he went to Seattle, where he should immediately help their blue line.
For New York, the bet is that Smits can handle the jump. He’s coming from the top league in Finland, which makes the transition to the NHL a quick one, and he’s already among the young players at Development Camp. That setting matters now, because it gives him a chance to start sharpening the details before fall arrives.
Drury and head coach Mike Sullivan are counting on Smits to help push this defense in the right direction. On paper, he fits more of what the Rangers needed.
Still, passing on Reid makes this one feel like the kind of decision that will be judged for a long time. The only real answer will come later, when both players start building their careers.
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What makes the move especially notable is the commitment behind it, with Pettersson locked in for five more seasons at a $5.5 million cap hit. The kind of trade return New York sent out suggests this was not a short-term patch, but a sign the front office is trying to keep the club in the fight while addressing a need that has lingered on the back end. [Read more 🡒]