Alexis Lafreniere was nearly a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Alexis Lafreniere was drafted 1st overall by the New York Rangers, but did you know? He was actually only millimeters away from being a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Going into the 2020 NHL Entry Draft the NHL was forced to do things a little differently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With teams forced to play in empty arenas, there was also the question of how would the NHL complete the draft lottery.
So the NHL did something unprecedented and ran the lottery with a ball for all non-playoff teams to enter the lottery. Ultimately a "non-playoff team" won the draft lottery granted all non-playoff teams a chance to acquire, the 1st overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere.
When the play-in round was concluded all eliminated teams had equal odds of drafting 1st overall. What many fans don't know is that the Toronto Maple Leafs were extremely close to winning the lottery. But how close? This close...
The New York Rangers ultimately ended up winning the lottery and claiming the top prize in the draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs ended up drafting Rodion Amirov, 15th overall.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 29 | 291 ANSWERS Alexis Lafreniere was nearly a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Will Alexis Lafreniere ever become a star in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 124 | 42.6 % |
| No | 167 | 57.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Mitch Marner (16) warms up prior to the during the first periodau- during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531807.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Mitch Marner (16) warms up prior to the during the first periodau- during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images")
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531742.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images")
