The Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins] will not acquire the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2026 first-round pick following Tuesday's NHL Draft Lottery. The Toronto Maple Leafs' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] first-round pick has landed in the top five and will not be transferred to the Bruins, denying them an incredibly valuable draft pick. The Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and hold the right to select Gavin McKenna first overall come late June. That leaves the Bruins with their own first-round pick, which will either be 23rd, 22nd, or 21st overall. That pick is currently 23rd, but if one or both of the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks move on to the third round, it slides Boston ahead in the draft order. Philadelphia trails Carolina 2-0, while Anaheim trails Vegas 1-0 in their respective series'. Entering tonight, the Maple Leafs held a 41.9% chance of retaining their pick, with over a 16% chance of selecting 1st or 2nd. The 2025 Trade Deadline deal of Brandon Carlo remains incomplete, and it will remain that way for some time. The Bruins landed Fraser Minten [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/latest-news/bruins-coach-gives-fraser-minten-big-shout-out-ahead-of-game-2], the 6th/7th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft, which was used to select Vashek Blanar. The trade likely will not be complete until 2028, when the Maple Leafs' 2028 first-round pick will transfer to the Bruins unprotected. The Flyers own Toronto's 2027 first-round pick, and there's almost no world where Boston ends up the owner of the pick. There remains uncertainty, but here is how the Flyers view the situation: The league will ideally resolve these issues in short order. The only way the Bruins can get Toronto’s pick next year is if it’s inside the top 10, at which point them and Philadelphia will be calling the league to argue their cases as it stands.
