Nightmare lottery scenario for Leafs could benefit Flyers and Bruins
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished 32-36-14 and 28th overall, and tonight's NHL Draft Lottery could swing two future first-round picks straight to Philadelphia and Boston.
Chris Johnston confirmed it Tuesday. If Toronto holds its 2026 first-rounder after the lottery balls drop, the Flyers get the 2027 first, and the Bruins land the 2028 first. Both unprotected.
This is the part Leafs fans have been dreading since last summer. The bill is finally coming due, and it lands the same night Brad Treliving learns where his own pick falls.
Kevin Kurz reported the Flyers believe the league will side with them if Toronto leaps into the top five tonight. The original protection was top-10. Top-five is a different fight.
But they also are not completely sure if the league agrees with them. If Toronto ends up outside of the top five tonight, it's a moot point. Otherwise, expect the Flyers to ask the league to clarify."
- Kevin Kurz
Philadelphia would prefer to wait. A 2027 unprotected first from a club run by Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and a still-functional core is a real asset. Especially if next year goes sideways.
Boston's situation is colder. Marco Sturm's group went 45-27-10 and finished eighth in the league this season. Their reward for stability is a 2028 lottery ticket on Toronto's books.
Why a top-five jump tonight detonates Toronto's next two summers
Think of it like signing a 30-year mortgage on a house you might want to sell in three. The Leafs took on that debt, and tonight's bounce decides how fast it compounds.
If Toronto stays at 28, the dominoes fall as Johnston laid them out. Flyers in 2027, Bruins in 2028, both unprotected, no further argument. Clean and brutal.
If Toronto jumps top five, the Flyers want that pick now. The league reportedly leans Philadelphia's way in that scenario. Daniel Briere doesn't have to do anything but watch.
The Bruins, meanwhile, sit in the cheap seats. Don Sweeney's front office gets two more years of runway before collecting on a Toronto roster that posted 253 goals for and 299 against this season.
That's a -46 differential on a team that's about to give away picks. Ask any Flyers fan in South Philly what they'd do with that math.
The lottery isn't just about the 2026 class. It's about how much of Toronto's future Treliving has already wired to two division rivals before puck drop next October.
By tomorrow morning, one of these three fanbases will be furious. The other two will be pricing out 2027 mock drafts.
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MAY 5, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Ross Colton | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Filip Gustavsson | - | - | - | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | - | - | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Johansson | - | - | - | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||