SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Toronto Maple Leafs won the lottery Tuesday night for the first pick in the 2026 NHL draft, a significant victory that could change the trajectory of the storied franchise at a critical time.
The Maple Leafs got some lottery luck a little more than 48 hours after hiring John Chayka as general manager and bringing back franchise legend Mats Sundin to serve as a hockey operations adviser. Chayka and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Keith Pelley got some harsh questions at their introductory news conference, but it was all smiles at Toronto’s facility after getting the No. 1 pick.
“I’m extremely happy for the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base, of course,” Sundin said. “Certainly this is really going to help when you’re looking into the future and try to help this team and what we’re looking for the future for the Toronto Maple Leafs, so it’s great to get the first pick.”
Penn State forward Gavin McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are rated as the top prospects in North America and Europe, respectively, by NHL Central Scouting. McKenna has been considered the potential overall No. 1 for quite some time.
“I’ve kept track of him for a number of years now, and the skill level, the creativity, obviously the puck ability and then his shot and release is all pretty special,” Chayka said. “A good package, and it’ll be good to get with the scouts and talk through it all, but I know there’s a lot of passion for a lot of players, including Gavin.”
The most immediate question for the Maple Leafs under new management is the future of the team’s captain and top player, seven-time NHL All-Star center Auston Matthews, after they missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. It’s the first time they’ve won the lottery since taking Matthews with the No. 1 pick in 2016, and the draft is back in Buffalo, New York, where they made that selection.
The first round is set for June 26, with the remaining seven rounds the following day.
Toronto had the fifth-highest odds of winning it at 8.5%. The Vancouver Canucks, who had the highest at 18.5%, have never had the first pick and dropped to third.
Chayka called moving up a fortuitous bounce.
“Long road ahead, of course: Lots of work to do still, but when you get a first overall pick, it’s a monumental type of opportunity,” Chayka said. “You don’t know what’s going to occur in these types of situations, but you do know you need some luck, and it happened. I don’t think it changes the vision or the strategy, but certainly when these things happen, it can change course and timelines, etc. But it’s not something that we’re going to change how we think about things.”
The Leafs get to keep the pick this year but lose their first-rounder in 2027 and 2028 to the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. There is some uncertainty as to which order for the Flyers and Bruins, and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly called it a complicated situation that would need to be worked out.
The San Jose Sharks won the lottery for the second pick. With yet another top-five pick, GM Mike Grier and his staff can augment a young group already led by center Macklin Celebrini and including Michael Misa and Will Smith.
“There’s lots of options there,” Grier said. “There’s centers, there’s ‘D,’ there’s wingers, so to have the opportunity to add another very talented player to our young core is very exciting.”
The Chicago Blackhawks have the No. 4 pick and the New York Rangers are at No. 5.
“We’re going to get a great player,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said. “It’s all about accumulating talent.”
This was the second live draft lottery conducted at the NHL Network studio, after the draw in previous years was conducted in a conference room and those inside were sequestered until the results aired on television. Commissioner Gary Bettman credited Steve Mayer, the league’s president of content and events, for the change.
“He goes, ‘This is an exciting moment,’ when we would do it in the room before Bill would do the reveal,” Bettman said. “He said, ‘Let’s do it live.’ And I gave him 10 reasons that we should be concerned, including, what if the machine breaks. And he said, ‘No, no we’re going to be fine.’ He’s the one who figured out how to make it an interesting and compelling show.”
After the first three numbers were drawn, the Canucks had a 27.3% chance of winning and the Rangers 18.2%, while the Leafs were among six teams with 9.1%. When the No. 12 ball popped out, completing the 7-2-11-12 sequence, Toronto won, changing the entire mood around the Original Six organization that has not hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1967.
“Just really excited for the organization, for the fan base,” Chayka said. “I think it’s a meaningful step, and (I’m) just elated.”