What does NHL Draft Lottery results mean for Maple Leafs and Canucks?

0:02 Oh, here we go.

0:04 For more reaction to this Toronto draft lottery win,

0:08 we go beside two reporters with our Maple Leafs bureau chief,

0:12 Mark Masters, and our Vancouver bureau chief, Farhon Liy.

0:16 And Mark, we're going to start with you.

0:17 A stunning turn of events in Toronto after the way

0:20 the the season ended and the circus surrounding the new front office hires.

0:26 The lease win the draft lottery.

0:28 What was your initial reaction to the lottery win?

0:32 I was surprised.

0:33 It was a disastrous season for the Leafs.

0:35 I was expecting a disastrous draft lottery to be honest.

0:39 I thought for sure they were going to give their pick to the Boston Bruins.

0:42 I thought maybe Florida was going to jump up

0:44 and and pass them and pick first or second instead.

0:48 Talk about a slump buster.

0:49 A badly needed win for the Leafs.

0:51 That uncomfortable news conference yesterday to introduce

0:54 the new front office feels like an ancient memory.

0:57 John Chaika and Matt Sundine all smiles in their Zoom call with the media today.

1:02 Chaika calling it a monumental opportunity saying

1:06 you need some luck involved in this.

1:08 And now all of a sudden Jay,

1:09 it feels like they're getting a jump start on what will be a challenging retool.

1:14 And as for the Canucks,

1:15 they finished the regular season dead last of the league.

1:17 They had the best odds to win the lottery.

1:19 They end up getting the third overall pick.

1:22 Farhan, what was the initial reaction

1:24 in the market to losing that first overall pick?

1:28 Jay, it's kind of like how I'm feeling now.

1:29 You go from the first overall pick in Masters to me,

1:32 and there's obviously going to be a level of disappointment, you know.

1:35 So, I I think Vancouver Hockey fans did

1:38 understand that this was very much a possibility.

1:40 their most likely draft position was going to be third.

1:43 But then you get the Leafs, the team that everybody outside of Toronto hates,

1:47 especially here in Vancouver, and they get the first pick.

1:49 And that was certainly a part of what added to the disappointment in Vancouver.

1:52 Now, look, in 2017, the Canucks had the second

1:55 best lottery odds to take the top pick.

1:57 They finished fifth.

1:58 2016, they had the third best lottery odds.

2:00 They finished fifth.

2:01 I was at both those draft parties.

2:03 The air got let out of the balloon really quick.

2:05 People took off.

2:05 And you know, Mark talked about just the the the way the worm has

2:10 turned in Toronto since that news conference

2:12 to announce a new front office team.

2:13 It's kind of been a bit of an emotional day

2:15 here in Vancouver as well because there were some reports

2:17 late yesterday and today that Pierre Dorion was going

2:20 to be the likely GM to take over here in Vancouver.

2:24 And Vancouver hockey fans lost their minds.

2:27 I've never seen them more united on social media and digital platforms.

2:31 They pushed back hard and then by the end

2:33 of the day the reporting changed and now

2:35 it looks like there's very little chance

2:37 that Dorian's going to wind up with that spot.

2:39 So fans were feeling invigorated, empowered that, hey,

2:42 we made this happen and then you lose the draft lottery.

2:45 So kuck luck is what we like to call it out here.

2:49 I love the way you put that far.

2:50 Uh Mark, we got to go back to you.

2:52 Uh we assume it's going to be Gavin McKenna first overall.

2:55 This is a kid who's just been handling pressure his entire life, right?

2:59 in the WHL and going to Penn State.

3:02 So, do you feel like he's he's well equipped to handle the spotlight in Toronto?

3:08 I do, Jay.

3:09 I've covered him at the last two World Juniors.

3:11 Not the easiest World Juniors for Canada.

3:13 McKenna was in the spotlight.

3:15 He handled the media really well.

3:17 He didn't shy away from anything.

3:18 He said kind of he wanted the expectations.

3:21 I think that he'll be fine with that part of it.

3:23 In terms of whether he's for sure the pick,

3:26 you know, Jacob wasn't willing to go there today.

3:28 says, "Hey, second day on the job.

3:30 I haven't even had scouting meetings yet." So,

3:32 they're going to do their due diligence.

3:34 You know, Matt Sundine being a a prominent Swede was asked about Ivar Stanberg,

3:38 who of course had a great World Juniors

3:40 and is considered one of the top prospects available.

3:42 So, we'll see how things shake out,

3:44 but uh I know Craig Button has McKenna at the top

3:47 of his list of at the top of his mock draft, and I think he'd be a great pick.

3:51 Uh kind of the natural successor really to Mitch Mner, right?

3:54 That Mitch Mner left.

3:55 The Leafs never really filled that void of a playmaking winger

3:59 and uh McKenna has the ability to kind of slot into that role.

4:03 And for the first time since 99 Farhan,

4:06 the Vancouver Conucks will select third overall.

4:09 They're going to get a great player at that pick.

4:11 At this point though,

4:12 what do you think they're thinking about doing with that pick?

4:15 Well, they're probably hoping the San Jose Sharks at two want

4:18 to take a defenseman because there's four pretty good defenseman after Stenberg.

4:22 And if that happens, then maybe Vancouver can get a player like that.

4:25 And then after that, what do the Canucks do, right?

4:27 Do they go defense?

4:28 And they've been really uh bullish

4:30 on their young defenseman coming through the system,

4:32 especially on the right hand side where you've got Phil Ronic and Tom Wanderer.

4:35 And now you've got players available like Chase Reed and Katon Verhoff.

4:38 And and those are two players that are

4:40 that are big-time talents on the right side.

4:42 But if you feel good about what you've got, is that where you want to go?

4:45 Then you've got Caleb Malhoer,

4:47 who pretty clearly is the best center available in this draft,

4:49 and he's been ascending up draft boards pretty quickly.

4:52 He's having a dominant OHL playoff right now with Brford, the son of Manny.

4:56 And if the Conucks make a coaching change, how does that factor in?

4:59 If Manny Malhoer becomes the next head coach of the Vancouver Conucks,

5:02 do they want to take a player like Caleb Malhotra?

5:04 So, do you go with the organizational need at center?

5:06 Do you take one of these big-time defenseman?

5:08 The Conucks have some choices where if they had picked one or two,

5:11 there would have been a lot less to think about.

5:13 Uh, a little more certainty on that top pick.

5:16 A little uncertainty at number three.

5:18 We're going to keep talking about it over the next couple of weeks, months.

5:21 The NHL draft will take place June

5:24 the 26th and 27th in beautiful Buffalo, New York.

5:27 Farhan, Mark, YOU GUYS WERE GREAT.

5:29 THIS HAS BEEN