The Maple Leafs on Saturday won the NHL draft lottery after a season of "longing, anticipation, hope and pain," in which they "did their part to earn the No. 1 draft choice by plotting a trajectory straight down the NHL standings," according to Eric Duhatschek of the GLOBE & MAIL. It was "also a good night" for the Jets, who moved up from sixth to second overall. The Blue Jackets moved up one spot, from fourth to third, while "luck has mostly been on the side" of the Oilers in previous years. But this year, they "could do no better than fourth overall, dropping back two places." Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan said that he "didn't believe 'validated' was the right word to describe his feeling after winning the lottery." He said, "Whether we ended up with the second, third, or fourth overall pick, I still felt that we had done what was needed to be done here in Toronto" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/1). In Toronto, Kevin McGran noted winning the lottery may be the franchise's "single biggest victory" since winning the '67 Stanley Cup. Shanahan "sweated out the results that saw Winnipeg win the No. 2 picks and Columbus third." This was the first year a lottery "was used to determine the first three picks" (TORONTO STAR, 5/1).
IF YOU'RE NOT FIRST, YOU'RE LAST: In Toronto, Dave Feschuk wrote the franchise's plan "could have easily gone sideways," but it "actually came together with optimal results ... for once." The plan involved "plenty of losing and a 30th-place finish in a 30-team league." However, winning the draft lottery meant the organization’s vision of the '15-16 season "was executed to a tee" and the "by-design pain was not suffered in vain." Shanahan said, "We earned this the hard way. It wasn't a whole lot of fun this year." It is assumed the Leafs will take 18-year-old Auston Matthews, and Shanahan said, "This is not going to be a savior. But it's a beginning." Feschuk noted as much as the Maple Leafs "succeeded in their tank job ... a year-over-year change to the lottery rules could have easily conspired against them." The Maple Leafs "could have fallen as far as fourth overall" after having just a 20% chance of winning the No. 1 pick (TORONTO STAR, 5/1). In Vancouver, Cam Cole notes the Maple Leafs "did it the old-fashioned way: by being certifiably the worst team" in the NHL with "no luck involved." He asks, "Is this a better result for hockey? Absolutely." If Matthews, touted as another generational talent, is "all he's cracked up to be, he should be a major catalyst in turning around the fortunes of a team." Canada's "most important hockey market needed this. Sportsnet definitely needed this" (VANCOUVER SUN, 5/2). But in Montreal, Jack Todd notes what is "more troublesome than the possibility that the NHL might have rigged the lottery is the process that brought us to this point: Blatant, persistent tanking is fatal to a sports league." That is what the Maple Leafs "did this year: they tanked." Todd: "The lesson? Tanking pays" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 5/2).
STRAIGHT FROM THE LEAGUE OFFICE: SPORTSNET.ca's Daniel Goffenberg noted NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday said that the league "was not looking for any particular outcome, no matter how appealing one might be." Bettman said, "As long as it goes through and does what it's supposed to without a glitch I'm happy. Obviously, we don't root (for a team to win), it is what it is." He added, "We don't look for a particular outcome, as long as the system itself works well we're OK." When asked what would have happened if the Oilers had won their fifth first-overall pick in seven years, Bettman said, "The good news is we don't have to deal with it, it didn't happen" (SPORTSNET.ca, 5/1).
THE OTHER VERDICTS: The GLOBE & MAIL's Duhatschek notes the Jets "were the other big winners of the evening ... moving up four spots in the draft." The Jets "didn't tank, didn't throw in the towel and kept playing to the end." In the end, virtue "was rewarded" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/2). In Edmonton, Dan Barnes noted for Oilers fans there was "no draft lottery salve for their festering regular season wounds." It could "easily be argued that no other non-playoff franchises lost more than the Oilers" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 5/1).
