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John Chayka of the Maple Leafs

Newly-crowned Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka provided his initial reaction after the Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery.

With just an 8.5% chance to claim the No. 1 overall selection in Tuesday’s NHL lottery, the odds were stacked against the Maple Leafs. But the ping pong balls bounced their way, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman read out the winning combination of lottery balls, which belonged to Toronto. The Maple Leafs now own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, and they are widely expected to take Penn State University forward Gavin McKenna with that pick.

For Chayka, it’s been a whirlwind 48 hours. On Sunday, Chayka was named the 19th GM in Maple Leafs’ history, with franchise legend Mats Sundin joining him as a senior advisor. On Monday, the team officially introduced their new management team, and the press conference was a fiery one that included a reporter going right after Chayka on his first day on the job. Then, just a day later, Chayka and the Maple Leafs won the draft lottery and the 1st overall pick. It’s a situation no one could have ever drawn up or imagined would happen for the Leafs.

John Chayka Reacts to Leafs Winning Lottery

Following the draft lottery, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston provided two quotes from Chayka reacting to his team winning the lottery.

First, Chayka’s initial reaction to the draft lottery results: “Well, you need some luck, and we got it tonight. … It’s a monumental opportunity.”

Second, Chayka’s opinion on who the Leafs will take with the 1st overall pick: “We haven’t had scouting meetings yet. Second day on the job.”

Maple Leafs Fans Needed This

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most historic and storied franchises in the NHL, but the team has had little to no success over the past 60 years. The last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup was in 1967, and the team hasn’t even gone back to the finals since then.

The Maple Leafs have had many ups and downs during the nearly 60 years since they last won the cup. Some of their best years came during the late 90s and early 00s, when Sundin was the team’s captain. But even then, the team didn’t truly come close to sniffing a championship.

The 2004-05 lockout hurt the Leafs, as they were no longer able to outspend other teams and flex their financial muscle with the introduction of the salary cap. The team then endured about a decade of losing before their fortunes turned in 2016. That’s when the Maple Leafs won the 1st overall pick in that year’s draft and took franchise superstar Auston Matthews.

With Matthews, the Leafs made it to the playoffs nine years in a row, though the team never advanced past the second round. This year, the Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Former GM Brad Treliving was fired, and the team was forced to essentially start a retool.

With the Boston Bruins holding the Leafs’ top-five protected first-round pick, Leafs fans were especially nervous heading into the draft lottery tonight, as moving down even one spot from their starting point of No. 5 would have them losing their pick to one of their biggest rivals.

But the hockey gods were looking down upon Maple Leafs fans tonight, as the Leafs won the draft lottery and will pick No. 1 overall on June 26 in Buffalo.