Maple Leafs Win NHL Draft Lottery, Set Up Chance to Draft McKenna

The Maple Leafs turned a turbulent season into a franchise-changing opportunity by winning the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery in Secaucus, New Jersey, and earning the first overall pick. Toronto entered the night with just an 8.5 percent chance to win, the fifth-best odds among eligible teams, yet the balls bounced its way and put the Leafs in position to select the draft’s top prospect.

New general manager John Chayka, hired May 3 along with senior executive adviser Mats Sundin, called it a fortunate break and a major chance to change the team’s direction. Chayka said, “You need some luck and we got it tonight,” then added that a first overall pick is “a monumental opportunity.” MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley had framed the leadership changes as part of building a championship-calibre team, and this lottery result gives that overhaul immediate leverage.

The timing matters because Toronto is coming off a season that exposed the limits of its previous build. The Leafs went 32-36-14, finished last in the Atlantic Division and 28th overall, lost their final seven games, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. The franchise has not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, a drought that has long defined the pressure around every roster decision in Toronto.

The most obvious prize is Gavin McKenna, the Penn State standout NHL Central Scouting ranked No. 1 among North American skaters for the 2026 draft. McKenna finished with 51 points in 35 NCAA games, including 15 goals and 36 assists, and averaged 1.46 points per game. With the draft set for June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, Toronto now has a chance to add a high-end centerpiece just as it resets its timeline.

The lottery win also carried a layer of trade drama. Toronto’s March 7, 2025 deal for defenseman Brandon Carlo included a conditional 2026 first-round pick protected through the top five, which meant the pick would have gone to Boston if the Leafs had fallen outside that range. Instead, Toronto stayed in the protected zone and kept control of the selection. It will be only the third time the Maple Leafs have picked first overall, after Wendel Clark in 1985 and Auston Matthews in 2016, giving the front office a rare chance to alter the franchise’s path with one pick.