The Toronto Maple Leafs finally scored a big win over the Bruins.

With new senior executive advisor Mats Sundin beaming in on Zoom, the Leafs won the NHL draft lottery and earned the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NHL draft. The Leafs now have an opportunity to draft Penn State’s Gavin McKenna if they choose, or perhaps talented Swede Ivar Stenberg.

The Leafs, who have lost to the Bruins in four Game 7s over the past 13 years, had traded the pick to the Bruins in the Brandon Carlo-Fraser Minten deal but it was top-five protected and the ping pong balls fell in Toronto’s favor, as did their disastrous season. They not only kept the pick, the Leafs hit the jackpot by jumping to the No. 1 spot

The first-round pick now slides most likely to 2028 for the B’s.

There is some question as to whether the Leafs’ 2027 pick that was traded to Philadelphia in the Scott Laughton had top-10 protection. It was originally believed that if it was a top-10 pick, the Leafs had a choice as to whether to send that pick to the B’s or the Flyers. But according to multiple reports, Philly believes that ‘27 pick is its unprotected and that the league, which has to make a ruling on it, is also seeing the matter in the Flyers’ favor.

Regardless, it was a much better second day on the job than it was the first day for new Toronto GM John Chayka, the surprise choice who was grilled mercilessly at his introductory press conference on Monday over the issues he had a first-time general manager with the Arizona Coyotes. Whether he chooses McKenna or Stenberg or perhaps goes off the board for a defenseman, he will have a foundational building block coming in as early as next September.

For the B’s, who had a 58% chance of having the Leafs bump down and thus getting the pick this year, the draft lottery has not been kind. After bottoming out last year, they were in the same position that the Leafs were in this year, holding the fifth overall pick. The B’s, however, were bumped down two spots by the ping pong balls last year. And while they seem to be happy with their pick at seven in James Hagens, there may have been a chair or two thrown around the Causeway Street offices on Tuesday night, especially with a divisional rival getting the top pick.

At the moment, the B’s now have three first-round picks in 2028 – their own, the Leafs’ and the Florida Panthers’ from the Brad Marchand trade.

That doesn’t exactly help them in their effort to add talent in time to coincide with the prime of David Pastrnak, who turns 30 on May 25 and has already talked about his clock ticking in his pursuit of a Stanley Cup. GM Don Sweeney could well try to package up one or two of them in an effort to get help for the here and now.

As we get closer to the June draft and the opening bell of free agency on July 1, business no doubt will pick up.