The Toronto Maple Leafs shocked everyone and won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, and was handed the first-overall pick at next month's draft. And the new general manager had the same reaction as a lot of us.
With just an 8.5 percent chance, all the lottery balls went in the Leafs' favour and they were awarded the top selection and the chance to get yet another very good talent with a first selection of a draft.
This symbolizes a hopefully significant turnover for this organization. Just earlier this week, they announced the new duo that will lead hockey operations for this team in general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin. They even had a press conference full of viral moments.
But now, this new front office gets a massive opportunity right off the hop to get a potentially generational talent as the first step in what is hopefully a successful reign.
John Chayka had a natural reaction to Leafs winning the Draft Lottery
After the results came down, Chayka spoke with a couple media members and just had a perfect reaction. While we can only read his words, we guarantee he was smiling ear to ear the entire time while saying this.
John Chayka on landing No. 1 pick: "Well, you need some luck, and we got it tonight. ... It's a monumental opportunity."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 5, 2026
"Well, you need some luck and we got it tonight," Chayka said via Chris Johnston. "It's a monumental opportunity."
That's for sure.
Chayka continued and repeated a lot of the feeling around Leafs Nation.
"Just really excited for the organization, for the fan base. I think it's a meaningful step. Elated," the Leafs general manager said, via The Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.
So are we, John. We are all so elated that now the Leafs get to start what will be a summer where we hopefully see a lot of moves to make this a more competitive team, with the biggest advantage ever with the first-overall pick this June. Now, it's all about making a team surrounding the projected pick and determining what that is going to look like.
Heck, we might even say this has increased the odds that the Leafs are back in the playoff race ever so slightly.
Add us as a preferred source on Google