Matthew Schaefer, the Calder Trophy winner, was drafted by the Islanders after they won the lottery. The Rangers, who finished ahead of the Islanders in the standings, missed the chance to select Schaefer due to their lower draft position.
Key points
Matthew Schaefer won the Calder Trophy as top rookie.
The Islanders drafted Schaefer first overall after winning the lottery.
The Rangers finished ahead of the Islanders in the standings.
The Rangers traded their 12th overall pick to the Penguins.
The Rangers retained their No. 5 overall pick.
Mentioned in this story
Matthew SchaeferJ.T. MillerJack Nesbitt
Liam GreentreeNew York RangersNew York IslandersPittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers fans undoubtedly enjoyed every minute of their four-game season-series sweep of the New York Islanders in 2024-25. Little did they know that it would end up costing them a Calder Trophy-winner this season.
The Rangers finished three points ahead of the Islanders in the overall standings (85-82), putting them 11th with a 3.0 percent chance of jumping to No. 1 in the lottery. Instead, they fell back to the 12th overall pick and opted to send it the Pittsburgh Penguins (who acquired it from the Vancouver Canucks and then traded it to the Philadelphia Flyers) to complete the J.T. Miller trade midway through the 2024-25 season. The Flyers used it to select center Jack Nesbitt, who is Liam Greentree OHL teammate at Windsor. The decision enabled the Rangers to keep this yearâs unprotected first-round pick, which is No. 5 overall.
Q&A
Why did the Rangers miss out on Matthew Schaefer?
The Rangers finished with a lower draft pick after the Islanders won the lottery, which allowed them to select Schaefer first overall.
What was Matthew Schaefer's achievement in the NHL?
Matthew Schaefer won the Calder Trophy as the League's top rookie for the 2025-26 season.
How did the Islanders secure the first overall pick in the draft?
The Islanders secured the first overall pick by winning the draft lottery, despite having only a 3.5 percent chance.
What did the Rangers do with their draft pick after missing Schaefer?
The Rangers traded their 12th overall pick to the Penguins as part of the J.T. Miller trade, while retaining their unprotected first-round pick, which is No. 5 overall.
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NHL: Florida Panthers at New York Islanders
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Schaefer was in tears when his father, Todd, and brother, Johnathon, showed up on the set of ABCâs âGMA3â in New York to inform him that heâd won the Calder.
âItâs definitely an honor to see so many great names on that trophy,â he said. âItâs definitely a dream come true.â
One name thatâs not on the Calder is Alexis Lafreniere, the player the Rangers took No. 1 overall in 2020. Lafreniere hasnât quite lived up to that top billing, but did match his career high this season, his sixth in the NHL, with 57 points. He has never finished with more than 28 goals.
While Islanders fans savored Schaeferâs play on the ice and the spark he brought to the franchise, Rangers fans could only think of what might have been: One loss to the Isles last season would have dropped them behind their archrivals, putting the Rangers in position to grab Schaefer. The 18-year-old defenseman lived up to his pre-draft billing as the consensus No. 1 pick by becoming the first unanimous Calder winner since Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.
Meanwhile, the Rangersâ non-Calder streak grew to 37 years since defenseman Brian Leetch won the award in 1989. The only other Rangers player to win the top rookie award in the past 70-plus years was forward Steve Vickers in 1973.
The Calder was first awarded in 1933, and six Rangers won it in a 15-year span from 1940 to 1954. They include forwards Kilby McDonald (1940), Â Grant Warwick (1942), Edgar Laprade (1946) and Pentti Lund (1949), goaltender Gump Worsley (1953), and forward Camille Henry (1954).
The thought that they could have had Schaefer and 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox on the same defense corps and power play is enough to have many Rangers fans wishing they hadnât dominated their suburban rivals so thoroughly. So was the fact that the Islanders avenged the 2024-25 sweep with a perfect 4-for-4 against the Blueshirts this season. Schaefer scored the game-winner in their 2-1 win at the Garden on Jan. 29.
It was promise-keeping of a sort for Schaefer. Shortly after the Islanders selected him, he stated that, âWeâre going to beat the Rangers every time we play them.â They did just that.
Rangers nemesis made history on way to Calder Trophy
NHL: New York Rangers at New York Islanders
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Schaefer is the sixth Islanders rookie to win the Calder and the youngest winner in NHL history (18 years, 223 days). He was first on all 198 ballots cast by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association after leading all first-year players this season in time on ice per game (24:41), tying for the lead in goals (23) and finishing third in points (59).
He was first among rookie defensemen in each category, as well as in power-play goals (eight), power-play points (18), overtime goals (two), game-winning goals (four) and shots on goal (222). His plus-13 rating was second.
His 23 goals and 59 points were records for 18-year-old defensemen, and he was the first defenseman in more than 90 years to lead rookies in goals (tied or outright).
