The NHL Draft Lottery delivered plenty of drama Tuesday night, with the Toronto Maple Leafs landing the coveted first overall pick. After a turbulent season that saw them finish with the fifth-worst record in the league, the Leafs defied the odds with just an 8.5 percent chance of winning the top selection. This stroke of luck also means Toronto keeps its first-round pick, which would have gone to the Boston Bruins if it had fallen to sixth or lower.

Now, the Maple Leafs face an exciting decision at the draft in Buffalo on June 26. They're expected to choose between two standout prospects: Penn State freshman forward Gavin McKenna or Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg. Both players bring elite skill and could be franchise cornerstones for years to come.

The San Jose Sharks were the other big winners of the night, jumping from the ninth spot all the way up to the second overall pick. That move pushed the Florida Panthers down to ninth, a notable shift for a team that had hoped for better positioning. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks, who finished dead last with a dismal 25-49-8 record, had the best odds at 18.5 percent but walked away empty-handed. No team outside the bottom 12 could leapfrog into the top two, so the Canucks' 25.5 percent chance at a top-two pick didn't pan out.

The Chicago Blackhawks (29-39-14) and New York Rangers (34-39-9) also landed in the lottery mix, but neither could replicate last year's magic. In 2025, the New York Islanders stunned everyone by jumping from 10th to first with just a 3.5 percent chance, eventually selecting defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Tuesday's lottery, held at the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., followed a similar two-round format. The first round determined the top pick, with the Panthers eliminated on the third of four balls drawn. The second round settled the second overall pick, and Florida was knocked out on the second ball. Only the top two positions were up for grabs, and teams could move up a maximum of 10 spots, meaning only bottom-11 finishers had a shot at the top prize.