The Maple Leafs win the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and the right to pick 1st overall at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

With a 8.5% chance of winning the lottery, the balls fell in their favor and now the TEAM will have an opportunity to select projected 1st overall pick Gavin McKenna at this June's Draft in Buffalo, NY.

McKenna, the 18 year old Whitehorse, Yukon native, is widely projected as a future NHL franchise cornerstone. He dominated the WHL as a 17 year old with 41 goals and 129 points in just 56 games en route to a league championship with the Medicine Hat Tigers before moving on to play at Penn State (NCAA) for his 18 year old season. With Penn State he put up 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games. His scouting report pegs him as a creative, high-risk offensive wizard with a rapidly improving physical, two-way game.

His game has been compared to Tampa Bay Lightning superstar and three time Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov.

With reports earlier today that captain Auston Matthews is considering demanding a trade out of Toronto, you have to imagine that today's news changes things... at least a bit. It's going to be an interesting offseason in Toronto, to say the least.