The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2026 NHL Draft after winning the lottery on Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs had an 8.5% chance to get the top pick in the draft. Thankfully, the ping pong balls bounced the team’s way, and they earned the chance to draft budding superstar Gavin McKenna of Penn State University.
Maple Leafs Need Influx of Talent
The Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need an influx of talent after the team missed the playoffs this season for the first time in a decade. That led to the Maple Leafs firing former GM Brad Treliving, and they replaced him with John Chayka and Mats Sundin in the team’s leadership positions. Sundin, the Leafs legend, represented the team at the draft lottery and turned out to be good luck for the team as they earned the No. 1 overall pick.
The Maple Leafs are going to make big changes this offseason with Chayka and Sundin taking over. The first order of business for the team will be to decide what to do with head coach Craig Berube, who is set to meet with Chayka later this week. Depending on how that in-person meeting goes, the Maple Leafs may decide to keep Berube around or fire him and hire another head coach to lead the team next year.
The Maple Leafs also need to convince captain Auston Matthews that he is in good hands with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2016. Matthews has two more years left on his contract, so he is still under control with the Maple Leafs. But Chayka and Sundin will do everything they can to convince him to stay, and hopefully sign a long-term extension to stay with the team for many years to come.
By adding the No. 1 overall pick — and presumably they will use it to take McKenna, to a core of Matthews, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies — the future is shining bright for the Maple Leafs.
San Jose Sharks Win No. 2 Overall Pick
The San Jose Sharks won the second draw and will pick No. 2 in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. The Sharks entered the draft lottery with just a 5.3% chance to win the second overall pick, so this is a huge get for a Sharks team that has missed the playoffs for seven seasons in a row. Between whoever they pick with the No. 2 pick, paired up with superstar Macklin Celebrini, the future of the Sharks is incredibly exciting.
The big loser of the NHL draft lottery was the Vancouver Canucks, who had the worst record in the league and had the best chance to get the No. 1 overall pick. But they lost both of the drawings and slipped to third in the draft.
Here is the full order of the 2026 NHL draft lottery. As you can see from the graph, the Maple Leafs and the Sharks hit grand slams on Tuesday night by winning the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively.
The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft takes place on Friday, June 26, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Toronto Maple Leafs Win No. 1 Overall Pick in 2026 NHL Draft Lottery