It was supposed to be a good night for the Boston Bruins with the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery taking place in New Jersey. Boston was hoping that the Toronto Maple Leafs first-round pick would fall outside the Top 5 and be the Bruins.
No such luck.
In what should be considered a complete disaster, the Maple Leafs not only kept the pick, but they won the NHL Draft Lottery and the right to select Gavin McKenna No. 1 overall. The pick for the Black and Gold is now an unprotected pick and will likely be there's in 2028, with Toronto's 2027 first-round pick going to the Philadelphia Flyers. No NHL Draft Lottery luck again for the Bruins.
Bruins have decisions to make
So to quickly review, the Bruins made the playoffs, lost in the first-round in six games to the Buffalo Sabres, will draft 23rd next month in Buffalo and they don't get Toronto's first-round pick after they won the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
This feels like a season that went nowhere. Actually, it was good for the decision makers who secured their jobs with a playoff berth. Other than that, it feels like a lost season with some key players in their prime. General manager Don Sweeney has some decisions to make with his 2028 first-round picks, which could be three of them. It will be stunning if they have all three picks when it comes to draft night in 25 months.
More Boston Bruins & NHL News
- Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig was hit with a two-game suspension for his punch on Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker in Game 4 during the second period of the Hurricanes' 4-2 series-clinching win. Charlie McAvoy has a hearing with the NHL on Monday, and his suspension will be announced. It will be a lot longer than what Greig got.
- The NHL released the finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the league's top rookie. The finalists are Matthew Schaeffer of the New York Islanders, Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens, and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks. Not surprisingly, the Bruins Fraser Minten was missing.
- The Sabres and Montreal Canadiens will kick off their second-round series on Wednesday night in Western New York. This could be a fascinating series.
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