Brendan Shanahan’s job of rebuilding the Toronto Maple Leafs received a big boost when the last-place team won the NHL draft lottery, putting it in a position to select U.S. center Auston Matthews with the first pick this summer.
With a 20 percent chance of winning the lottery Saturday night, the Maple Leafs became the first last-place team to retain the position in the draft order since the Edmonton Oilers in 2010.
The Winnipeg Jets made the largest jump, moving from the sixth to the second selection. The Columbus Blue Jackets moved up one slot to third.
What was also significant is the Oilers didn’t win. Edmonton dropped two slots, and will be picking fourth. The Oilers had the first pick in four of the previous six drafts and won the lottery three times.
The Vancouver Canucks slipped from third to fifth. The Calgary Flames dropped one slot and will be picking sixth.
The order of the final eight teams stayed the same, including the Avalanche in the No. 10 slot.
The draft is June 24-25 in Buffalo, N.Y.
“We earned this the hard way. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun this year,” said Shan- ahan, the Maple Leafs’ president. “When you have an opportunity to pick first overall, it’s an important moment for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s an important moment for our fans and our ownership group, who have given us the support to do this build the right way.”
The Maple Leafs have had the first pick just once, in 1985 when they selected Wendel Clark. Shanahan wouldn’t provide any hints as to which player the Leafs might select.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, Matthews is an Arizona-born forward and rated by NHL Central Scouting as the draft’s top prospect.
After spending three seasons playing for various USA Hockey developmental teams, Matthews elected to play for Zurich in Switzerland’s professional league. He had 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points in 36 regular-season games, but managed just three assists in four playoff games before Zurich was eliminated.
Matthews hasn’t played since March, but he will have an opportunity to showcase his talent by representing the United States at the world hockey championship in Russia next month.
Next in the draft rankings are Finnish-born forwards Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi, who helped their nation win the world junior championship tournament in January.
Laine was named the Finnish League’s playoff MVP after scoring 10 goals and posting five assists in helping Tappara win the championship.
2016 nhl draft order
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Winnipeg Jets
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Edmonton Oilers
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Calgary Flames
7. Arizona Coyotes
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Ottawa Senators
13. Carolina Hurricanes
14. Boston Bruins
