Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Lottery Selections of All-Time

Since the NHL Draft Lottery system was invented in 1995, the Toronto Maple Leafs have only drafted inside the top-16 nine times.

By missing the playoffs more often than entering, you would think that the Toronto Maple Leafs would have had a ton of great draft picks, but they unfortunately have a few instances of trading their first round picks, even when the team was bad.

Prior to 1995, the Toronto Maple Leafs had drafted inside the top-five 10 times, but they never had the opportunity to move up or down from that selection.

If you were the worst team in the NHL, or had the draft pick of the worst team, you automatically were awarded the first overall pick: no questions asked.

In today’s world where tanking and rebuilding is so crucial to an organization’s success, the NHL eliminated this rule to make it fair for every terrible team to get a crack at the top pick, so less tanking would occur.

Obviously, the team with the worst record still has the best chance at winning the number-one overall selection, but it’s far from guaranteed.

Over the past decade, there have been a number of examples of teams moving up thanks to the NHL Draft Lottery.

Last year for example, the three teams that ended up selecting in the top-three of the NHL Entry Draft, had very bad odds to do so:

• 1st Overall: New Jersey Devils (3rd worst record in NHL)
• 2nd Overall: New York Rangers (6th worst record in NHL)
• 3rd Overall: Chicago Blackhawks (12th worst record in NHL)

The NHL Draft Lottery provides hope and entertainment for teams that miss the playoffs, and even though your team is the worst in the NHL, doesn’t exactly mean you’re going to draft the next Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid.

Speaking of which, the Toronto Maple Leafs have seen the advantages and disadvantages of the NHL Draft Lottery, but here are the top-five players the team has selected who were Lottery picks.

#5. Nazem Kadri

2009 NHL Entry Draft: 7th Overall

Brian Burke did a handful of good things as the G.M. of the Toronto Maple Leafs and drafting Nazem Kadri was one of them.

Kadri played 561 career games with the Leafs before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot.

If you surveyed 100 die-hard Maple Leafs fans right now, I’m sure 90 of them would say that they would want Kadri back instead of having Barrie or Kerfoot right now. Barrie has been better since the arrival of Sheldon Keefe, but Kadri’s replacement Kerfoot doesn’t provide the same type of energy and style that Kadri does.

Although he was suspended in back-to-back playoff series against Boston, I think fans would take their chances the third time around if Kadri went up against their arch-rival Bruins.

His style of play can’t be taught and that agitator role he plays is so crucial for any team.

His current team, the Avalanche, are in a great position right now as one of the teams that will get a bye into the Round of 16 and Kadri will be a big reason if his team is able to make a long playoff run.

#4. William Nylander

2014 NHL Entry Draft: 8th Overall

The Maple Leafs only had a 3.6 percent chance at winning the number-one overall pick, but a 87.7 percent chance at the eighth overall selection, which is what ultimately happened.

Although the Leafs selected eighth overall and picked William Nylander, they actually got the sixth best player in the entire draft.

As his career progresses, it’s quite possible that Nylander will end up being even higher on that list, but regardless, the Leafs got a steal with this selection.

Nylander was getting criticized daily after holding-out of his contract and then only producing seven goals for the 2018-19 season. Although that criticism was justified, Nylander showed the world what type of player he could be if he had a true summer to train and a training camp to get ready.

Producing 31 goals in the 2019-20 season, Nylander was most likely going to end up closer to 35 goals if they played a true 82-game season.

This is just the beginning for the 24-year-old. With a long-term contract signed, he’s got nothing to worry about for the next few seasons, except producing at an exceptional pace and making even more money down the road.

Hopefully all of the critics have been quieted now because Nylander will continue to be a top-three scoring option on the Maple Leafs for the next five years.

#3. Mitch Marner

2015 NHL Entry Draft: 4th Overall

With a 9.5 percent of winning the NHL Draft Lottery, Toronto Maple Leafs fans were desperate to win this one.

Conspiracy theorists hoped that Gary Bettman would rig this draft and award the number-one pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that unfortunately didn’t happen.

The Edmonton Oilers would once again get the number-one overall pick, thus having the ability to select the greatest player of the past decade: Connor McDavid.

With the Draft Lottery finished, the Leafs were awarded the fourth overall pick and as the fourth worst team in the NHL, that was fair.

Instead of the great McDavid, the Leafs lucked out and selected Mitch Marner, who has been nothing short of extraordinary during his time in the NHL.

He’s essentially a point-per-game player with 291 points in 300 career NHL games, and had a career high 2018-19 season teamed up with John Tavares, when he scored 26 goals and had 94 points.

As a player that some thought would be too small to make the leap from junior to the NHL, he has exceeded all expectations and will most likely be an NHL All-Star every year for the next 10 years, especially if he’s playing alongside Auston Matthews every night.

#2. Morgan Rielly

2012 NHL Entry Draft: 5th Overall

If it wasn’t for Morgan Rielly the past few seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs defense may have been the worst in the NHL, and that was seen while he was injured this year.

Rielly is a stud on the blue-line and the ability to steal him with the number-five pick is one of the best moves Brian Burke ever made.

The Leafs actually had an 8.1 percent chance at the number-one overall pick, but it was more likely they would finish with the fifth overall pick, like what ultimately happened.

Although the Leafs finished with the fifth overall pick, Brian Burke has always said that even if the team finished with the first-overall pick, they were going to select Morgan Rielly.

This is all hindsight and Burke never said it in the moment, so you have to take that comment with a grain of salt, but if it’s true, that’s exceptional vision. It felt like every terrible NHL team during the 2011-12 season had a “Fail for Nail” sign hanging up near the end of the season, as each fan-based hoped they would select Nail Yakupov.

Yakupov was always looked to be the first-overall pick, so although Burke said he would’ve selected Rielly anyway, it’s a blessing that the team had the fifth overall pick and Rielly was waiting for them there.

Only 26-years-old, Rielly will be a huge factor as the Leafs get ready for the playoffs, because his play will most likely determine how far the Leafs advance in the post-season this summer.