NHL draft lottery results: Toronto Maple Leafs will pick No. 1 overall
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Now, the question is whether they will take Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg with the top pick. But that’s a decision to be made in June.
For now, the Maple Leafs received the right to make that choice by winning the draft lottery on Tuesday, May 5. They had 8.5% odds of landing the top pick. Their 2026 first-round pick had been traded but was top-five protected, so they keep the selection.
The Maple Leafs last picked No. 1 overall in 2016, when they chose Auston Matthews.
The San Jose Sharks won the second drawing and will choose second overall for the second year in a row. They also picked first in 2024, taking Macklin Celebrini.
The last-place Vancouver Canucks fell to the third pick.
The draft lottery drawing was conducted in front of cameras for the second year in a row in the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Last year, the New York Islanders won the lottery despite 3.5% odds and selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the top pick.
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- San Jose Sharks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Chicago Blackhawks
- New York Rangers
- Calgary Flames
- Seattle Kraken
- Winnipeg Jets
- Florida Panthers
- Nashville Predators
- St. Louis Blues
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- St. Louis Blues
- Washington Capitals
The order for the first 16 picks of the NHL draft is set. Who will go first? The Hockey News weighs in with its mock draft.
New Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka drew scrutiny when introduced on Monday. But now he can choose the No. 1 pick after winning the lottery. Check out the winners and losers.
The top prospects as listed by NHL Central Scouting:
Top North American skaters
- LW Gavin McKenna, Penn State
- D Chase Reid, Sault Ste. Marie
- D Carson Carels, Prince George
- D Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota
- D Daxon Rudolph, Prince Albert
Top international skaters
- LW Ivar Stenberg, Sweden
- D Alberts Smits, Latvia
- C Oliver Suvanto, Finland
- C Viggo Bjorck, Sweden
- RW Elton Hermansson, Sweden
What were the 2026 NHL draft lottery odds
Teams in the 12 to the 16 range can’t win the No. 1 overall pick. They would move up 10 spots.
- 1. Vancouver Canucks: 18.5% (25.5% overall)
- 2. Chicago Blackhawks: 13:5%
- 3. New York Rangers: 11.5%
- 4. Calgary Flames: 9.5%
- 5. Toronto Maple Leafs: 8.5% (Pick traded to Boston but is top-5 protected. If it remains in top 5 after the lottery, Toronto will give up its 2027 or 2028 first-rounder.)
- 6. Seattle Kraken: 7.5%
- 7. Winnipeg Jets: 6.5%
- 8. Florida Panthers: 6.0%
- 9. San Jose Sharks: 5.0%
- 10. Nashville Predators: 3.5%
- 11. St. Louis Blues: 3.0%
- 12. New Jersey Devis: 2.5%
- 13. New York Islanders: 2.0%
- 14. Columbus Blue Jackets: 1.5%
- 15. Detroit Red Wings: 1.0% (pick traded to St. Louis)
- 16. Washington Capitals: 0.5%
How does the draft lottery work?
There are two drawings, first for a chance at the top pick and then for a chance at the second pick. Winning teams can move up only 10 spots. The last-place team can draft no lower than third overall. Beginning with the 2022 lottery, a team cannot win more than twice in a five-year period. There are 14 ping-pong balls in the machine and each team is assigned a series of four numbers. The lower a team is in the standings, the more series of numbers it gets.
This content is sourced from www.usatoday.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
