The New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday to move on to the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While it was delightful for the Islanders and their fans, another NHL team benefited from New York advancing.
The Ottawa Senators, who dealt forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau to the Islanders at the trade deadline, now will have three first-round picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. As a result of the Islanders moving on, the conditional 2020 first-round pick sent to the Senators became official.
As a result of the #Islanders beating the Panthers and moving on to the playoffs, the Ottawa #Senators will now receive NY's 2020 1st RD pick as part of the J-G Pageau trade.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 7, 2020
Sens now officially have 3 picks in the first RD of this years entry draft.https://t.co/uDE2RpiVJq pic.twitter.com/IvrwCv5bJp
Ottawa currently holds the fifth and third overall selections in the draft after the lottery revealed a to-be-determined team will select first overall.
The Senators, who missed the opportunity to compete for a spot in the 2020 playoffs, finished second to last in the NHL standings with a 25-34-12 record.
While they more than likely will miss out on the opportunity to select projected No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, Ottawa still will have plenty of talent left to choose from.
Mannheim's Tim Stutzle, Saginaw's Cole Perfetti, Erie's Jamie Drysdale and Frolunda's Lucas Raymond could all potentially be available with Ottawa's first two selections. With the third pick likely coming later in the first round, the Senators also could add a talented center in Connor Zary.
The second round of the draft lottery, which will determine who gets the first overall pick, is set to be held on Aug. 10.
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