The lottery win is a silver lining in an otherwise miserable Leafs season — and should help the new front office of GM John Chayka and senior executive adviser Mats Sundin begin to rebuild a roster for next season.
The Leafs entered the 2025-26 season having won the Atlantic Division the previous year and had Stanley Cup aspirations. Instead, a poorly-constructed roster led to an epic collapse. The Leafs lost 26 of their final 34 games of the season, eliminating them from the playoffs and putting them in the lottery for the first time since 2020.
Penn State winger Gavin McKenna is the presumed top pick. After logging 51 points in 35 games in his first NCAA season, the high-IQ playmaker could provide necessary offense to the Leafs and become a future linemate of Matthews.
The Leafs could also consider Ivar Stenberg. The Swedish left winger and offensive wizard tallied 33 points in the SHL this season, the fifth-most ever by an 18-year-old in the top Swedish league and the most since Hall of Famers Daniel and Henrik Sedin in 1998-99.
Otherwise, the Leafs could consider moving down in the draft to still add a high-end prospect while also bolstering their fledgling prospect pool with multiple other picks.
