Maple Leafs win NHL draft lottery and will pick 1st overall, Canucks fall to 3rd

It’s the same old story for Vancouver Canucks fans.

The franchise’s NHL existence began with an infamous roulette spin that resulted in the Canucks picking second overall in the 1970 draft behind the Buffalo Sabres.

Their expansion counterparts went on to select future Hockey Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault with the top selection, while Vancouver settled for the underwhelming Dale Tallon with the next pick.

Vancouver has still never selected first overall in the NHL draft, and today marked the seventh time in franchise history that the Canucks have moved down thanks to the draft lottery. They’ve never once moved up.

Thanks to a dismal 2025-26 season and the league’s worst record by a long shot, the Canucks entered the day with the best odds of landing the first overall pick in June.

But once again they found no luck in the draft lottery, losing both of today’s draws for the first- and second-overall picks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who had a better-than-50% chance of moving down in the lottery and having to sacrifice their pick to the Boston Bruins, won the first-overall pick. The San Jose Sharks won the second draw to move up to the number two pick. Vancouver will pick third.

Like the Canucks, the Calgary Flames also moved down two spots from fourth to sixth overall, while the Jets fell one spot to eighth overall thanks to the Sharks jumping up.

The 2026 NHL draft will take place June 26-27 at KeyBank Centre in Buffalo. Gavin McKenna is projected to be the first-overall selection.