Flyers

We’re Waiting for NHL Ruling on Flyers and Maple Leafs Draft Pick Confusion

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 6th, 2026 · 10:00 AM EDT

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The Toronto Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery. That means they’ll be getting Gavin McKenna, barring some unforeseen turn.

What this has to do with the Flyers is that there’s some confusion over the status of the first round pick they’re owed from the Scott Laughton trade. Toronto made a later swap with Boston involving Brandon Carlo that also put conditions on a first round pick, which is the genesis of the head scratching.

Here’s what PuckPedia says about it:

We've seen the reports today about the conditions on the TOR '27 1st. Over the last year, we checked with league and team contacts many times, and below is what we were consistently told. It's possible the interpretation recently changed, and we're looking into that, but below… https://t.co/K22ksuWVNU

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) May 6, 2026

Going by that chart:

• the Leafs landed inside the top 5 this year, so they keep their pick
• if their 2027 pick falls outside of the top 10, it goes to the Flyers
• if their 2027 pick falls inside of the top 10, they decide if it goes to the Bruins or Flyers
• the the team that doesn’t get the 2027 pick gets a 2028 unprotected pick

Make sense? Apparently everybody is looking to the NHL here for final clarification.

This is from Greg Wyshinski at ESPN:

Though the draft lottery broadcast said that the Bruins would now get their pick of either the Leafs’ 2027 or 2028 first-round picks, that might not be the case. Multiple reports Tuesday night indicated that the Philadelphia Flyers believe they have a claim on the 2027 pick, having acquired a conditional first-rounder from the Leafs in the Scott Laughton trade last deadline. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN that he wasn’t prepared to make a ruling on who owns those picks quite yet, calling it a “complicated situation.”

Is the 2027 pick gonna fall inside or outside of the top 10? Toronto was pretty bad this season after nine straight playoff appearances, but they have Auston Matthews returning from injury and William Nylander and John Tavares under contract for a few more seasons, so it’s hard to say. Throw McKenna into the mix, presumably, and assume they improve upon a defense that allowed 299 goals.

Regardless, if it comes down to a situation where the Leafs have to choose between the Flyers and Bruins, they should choose the Flyers. There is no reason for anybody to choose the Bruins for anything. The Leafs should hand the pick to a Metro team, not an Atlantic rival.

We are awaiting an NHL ruling.