Armed with the No. 1 overall pick after a lucky lottery bounce, the Maple Leafs’ draft capital is coming into clearer focus now that Buffalo’s postseason exit has locked Toronto into the 60th selection.
The puzzle pieces of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2026 draft capital are finally locking into place.
Following the Buffalo Sabres’ heartbreaking Game 7 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the draft order for the non-finalist postseason teams has officially crystallized. For the Maple Leafs, Buffalo’s elimination confirms exactly when they will be making their second selection of the summer: locking them into the 60th overall pick.
If the path to acquiring that selection sounds complicated, that’s because it is.
The Maple Leafs originally acquired the asset from the Los Angeles Kings as part of the return package for forward Scott Laughton back in March. Originally structured as a 2026 third-round pick, the asset included a conditional trigger: if the Kings qualified for the 2026 postseason, the pick would automatically upgrade to the Sabres’ second-rounder. Los Angeles held the Sabres’ natural second-round pick via a previous transaction, that specific selection has now been diverted to Toronto.
When determining the NHL Draft order, the league operates backwards from the postseason results. The Stanley Cup champion picks 32nd, the runner-up picks 31st, and the conference finalists fill out spots 29 and 30 based on regular-season records. Spots 25-28, if needed, are set aside for divisional winners who did not advance to the conference final or better.
Author's note: An earlier version of this article is where I made an error. I originally put Buffalo ahead of the Dallas Stars in their order priority, not factoring in that Dallas is ahead because they did not win their division, while the Sabres won the Atlantic Division.
From there, the remaining playoff teams are ordered by their regular-season point totals. With Buffalo bowed out in the second round, their regular-season finish officially locks their slot at No. 60.
For a Maple Leafs front office trying to restock an incredibly bare prospect cupboard, securing a concrete second-round asset can help.
Going into this season, Toronto’s draft pick outlook was bleak, to say the least. Trade deadline deals in 2025 saw management ship away their own consecutive first-round picks to the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in desperate pushes for a deep playoff run.
But fortunes change quickly in the National Hockey League. Thanks to a monumental stroke of luck at the NHL Draft Lottery earlier this month, where the Leafs defied the odds and jumped from the No. 5 spot to the No. 1 overall position, Toronto is suddenly anchored by a potential franchise-altering first-round prize.
Now, with Buffalo’s finalized 58th pick safely in their back pocket, the Leafs possess two swings in the top 60. It may not completely fix a depleted prospect pipeline overnight, but it gives management some much-needed flexibility when the draft floor opens in June.