One topic that's been discussed over the last few months has been the issue of the Boston Bruins and the Maple Leafs' 2026 first-round pick. The book is closed on the topic itself. The Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and kept their pick. They used it on Gavin McKenna.
End of story.
Well, not so fast. It’s worth looking into an alternate universe in which the Bruins actually got the pick. In a separate piece, I looked into the possibility of the Maple Leafs re-signing Mitch Marner. Had that been the case, the Maple Leafs could have made the playoffs this past season. That fact alone would have given Boston Toronto’s 2026 first-rounder.
Granted, it would have been somewhere in the middle of the opening round. But it could have been a trade chip the Bruins could have used as part of another deal.
But there’s another possibility. The Leafs might not have won the NHL Draft Lottery. In fact, a couple of teams behind the Leafs could have moved up, bumping Toronto back one or two spots. That situation would have left the Bruins with the sixth or seventh-overall selection.
Even if one team had moved up ahead of the Leafs, that would have been enough to bump them out of the top five. And it would allow Boston to pick a high-end blueliner like Keaton Verhoeff or Chase Reid.
It’s a fascinating thought, especially if Don Sweeney had decided to dangle the pick in front of another team. What could have been the, say, sixth-overall pick have gotten the Bruins? A high-end center? Would that pick have been enough to get a conversation started with the Detroit Red Wings involving Dylan Larkin?
Could it have gotten Bowen Byram? Perhaps the pick could have led to another center to play with David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka (of course, that’s assuming the Peterka deal would have still happened).
Unfortunately, we’ll never know what would have happened if the Bruins had landed the Maple Leafs’ 2026 first-rounder. The hockey gods seemed to have a design to foist the worst possible outcome on the Bruins.
There’s still hope that the hockey gods can right a wrong. The Maple Leafs could still bomb next season, potentially leading to another top-ten pick. If that’s the case, Boston could stand to get the pick it was meant to receive in the first place.
In the meantime, we can only speculate about what would have happened if the unlikeliest of circumstances actually played out.
