Daily Bean: Maple Leafs Lottery Odds, Blackhawks Extend GM, Vegas Clinches Pacific

NHL News & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: The Toronto Maple Leafs finished with the fifth-best draft lottery odds. They lost 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators last night, and finished their season going 0-6-1 in April.

The Maple Leafs have an 8.5% chance at the first overall pick, an 8.6% chance at second overall, and a 24.5% chance of staying at fifth. There is a 58.2% chance that the Bruins get the pick at sixth or seventh overall.

LOTTERY ODDS (via PuckPedia): Check out the PuckPedia 2026 Draft Lottery Simulator here.

1. Vancouver: 18.5% odds to win the lottery
2. Chicago: 13.5%
3. Calgary: 11.5%
4. NY Rangers: 9.5%
5. Toronto: 8.5%
6. Seattle: 7.5%
7. Winnipeg: 6.5%
8. Florida: 6.0%
9. San Jose: 5.0%
10. St. Louis: 3.5%
11. New Jersey: 3.0%

Chicago Hockey Now: The Chicago Blackhawks extended their general manager, Kyle Davidson, to a multi-year extension. Per club policy, the terms of the deal were not announced. Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz announced the extension before their season finale. Jack Bushman has more on Davidson’s extension.

NHL.com: The Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title with a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken last night. They will play the Utah Mammoth in the first round, who await as the top wild card in the West.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:

Eastern Conference (set)

• A1 – Sabres vs. WC1 – Bruins
• A2 – Lightning vs. A3 – Canadiens
• M1 – Hurricanes vs. WC2 – Senators
• M2 – Penguins vs. M3 – Flyers

Western Conference (not finalized yet, spot set)

• C1 – Avalanche vs. WC2 – Kings
• C2 – Stars vs. C3 – Wild (matchup confirmed)
• P1 – Golden Knights vs. WC1 – Mammoth (matchup confirmed)
• P2 – Oilers vs. P3 – Ducks

Pacific Division Scenarios for tonight:

• Edmonton (91 pts.): clinches second with a point vs. VAN
• Anaheim (90 pts.): finishes second with win + EDM regulation loss
• Los Angeles (90 pts.): finishes second with win + both EDM and ANA loss

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins finished second in the Metropolitan Division. They are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers in round one in a Battle of Pennsylvania. They defied expectations, but some moves by their GM, Kyle Dubas.

Here’s a podcast episode with Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski and Philly Hockey Now’s Will James previewing the series.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings, in their season finale, collapsed and fell 8-1 to the Florida Panthers. It was 5-1 after two periods, and Justin Faulk scored the lone Red Wings’ goal in the second period.

For the second night in a row, there was a frustrated coach in a press conference. Last night, it was Todd McLellan. He had few words to say after the Red Wings’ seven-goal loss.

Today’s NHL Schedule

Blues at Mammoth – 7:30 PM (US: ESPN)

Ducks at Predators – 8:00 PM

Sharks at Jets – 8:00 PM

Kings at Flames – 9:00 PM (CA: SN1)

Canucks at Oilers – 9:00 PM (CA: SN)

Kraken at Avalanche – 10:00 PM (US: ESPN)

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