For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter It seemed that the odds of the Toronto Maple Leafs keeping their 2020 first-round pick were slim based on the conditions of the deal made with Carolina last June at the Draft in Vancouver, but following the results of the NHL Draft Lottery on Friday the club still has a chance of retaining their pick and the possibility of selecting first overall. The Leafs swapped a conditional first-rounder to the Hurricanes along with Patrick Marleau to clear the veteran winger’s $6.25 Million cap hit off the books, but the condition was if Toronto’s pick ended up in the top 10, they would keep it and Carolina would receive their 2021 pick. Had the regular season been completed and the Leafs made the 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs, their pick would have ended up in the high teens or early ’20s of the first round and gone via Carolina to the New York Rangers (since the Canes traded a first-rounder for defenseman Brady Skjei).
The draw for the first overall selection will be held during Phase 2 of the #NHLDraft Lottery among only the eight teams that fail to advance from the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. All participants will have the same odds (12.5%).
— NHL (@NHL) June 27, 2020
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— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) June 22, 2020