Blackhawks fall to fourth in NHL draft, Toronto wins lottery for No. 1 pick

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the lottery for the first pick in the NHL draft.

The victory comes at a critical time for Toronto in the aftermath of hiring John Chayka as general manager and bringing back franchise legend Mats Sundin to serve as a hockey operations adviser.

The Blackhawks will have the fourth overall selection, which was awarded as a result of Tuesday’s 2026 NHL draft lottery.

The San Jose Sharks won the lottery for the second pick which forced Vancouver, which came in with the best chance of winning the No. 1 pick, to fall to third. The Blackhawks had the second-best chance to win the first pick, but fell to fourth.

The 2026 draft will mark the second time in franchise history the Blackhawks have picked fourth overall. The Blackhawks are picking in the top five for the 14th time in franchise history, having previously owned two first overall picks (including Connor Bedard in 2023), two second overall picks, seven third overall picks, one fourth overall pick and one fifth overall pick.

The Hawks currently have eight total picks in the draft, including one in the first round, three in the second round, one in the third round, one in the fourth round and two in the seventh round. Chicago is one of three teams with at least four selections in the first two rounds.

Additionally, Chicago has 15 total picks in the first three rounds of the next three NHL Drafts, which is tied for the third-most in the NHL.

The NHL draft will be held from June 26-27 in Buffalo, N.Y.

The future of Toronto captain and best player Auston Matthews is the franchise’s biggest question after missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. It's the first time the Maple Leafs have won the lottery since taking Matthews with the No. 1 pick in 2016.

They had the fifth-highest odds of winning it at 8.5%. Vancouver had the highest at 18.5% and has never had the first pick in the draft.

Penn State’s Gavin McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are rated as the top North American and European prospects by NHL Central Scouting.