Toronto Maple Leafs win the lottery
for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft
[May 06, 2026]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs won the lottery for
the first pick in the NHL draft on Tuesday night, 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 the 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 fanbase, 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’s Gavin McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are
rated as the top North American and European prospects by NHL
Central Scouting. McKenna has been considered the prospective top
choice 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 Leafs under new management is
the future of captain and best player 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 where they made that
selection.
Toronto had the fifth-highest odds of winning it at 8.5%. Vancouver
had the highest at 18.5%, has 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 '28 to Philadelphia and Boston. There is
some uncertainty as to which order for the Flyers and Bruins, and
deputy commissioner Bill Daly called it a complicated situation that
would need to be worked out.
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New Toronto Maple Leafs Senior Executive Advisor, Hockey Operations
Mats Sundin, left to right, MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley, and
new Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager John Chayka, hold up a
jersey following a press conference in Toronto on Monday, May 4,
2026. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)
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 Macklin Celebrini and
including Will Smith and Michael Misa.
“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.”
Chicago has the No. 4 pick and the New York Rangers 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 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 president of content
and events Steve Mayer 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 just elated.”
___
AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.
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