Boston Bruins President of Hockey Operations Cam Neely sent a clear message to the team after their first-round playoff exit.
The Bruins exceeded expectations by reaching the playoffs, but in the postseason, Boston struggled and was eliminated in six games by the Buffalo Sabres. It was a disappointing result, and Neely knows the team has to be better on home ice and be better overall.
“Disappointing the way we played at home in the playoffs,” Neely said on Wednesday. “Can’t skate around that. Our home regular-season record was outstanding. For whatever reason, we couldn't make it happen in the playoffs. That’s on us.
“We have to understand that a little bit better. But the experience that some of the players got that hadn’t had playoff hockey is invaluable. We’re grateful for that, but we do realize there is a lot more work to do.”
Despite the lack of success on home ice in the playoffs, Neely said he was thrilled with the Bruins fans for showing up all season and in the playoffs.
“They were thrilled about the passion of our fanbase,” Neely said. “They saw it from afar, and then when they were wearing the Spoked-B, they just reveled in what our fans bring to every game. I want to thank our fans for continuing to do that year after year.”
Boston will enter the offseason with expectations of improving the roster and not just reaching the playoffs next season, but going on a deep run.
The Boston Bruins had a more than 58% chance of claiming the Toronto Maple Leafs' pick in the 2026 NHL Draft as the final piece of the 2025 deal that sent Brandon Carlo to Toronto in exchange for Fraser Minten.
However, the Maple Leafs' pick was top-five protected. So when they were lucky enough to see their 9.1% chance of receiving the first overall selection cashed in on Tuesday night, the trade got pushed off until 2027 or 2028.
But Bruins fans were quick to point out that this isn't the first time that the NHL Draft Lottery has rewarded Toronto.
Jesse Pollock of TSN Sports pointed out on X that the Maple Leafs have missed the playoffs only twice in the past 10 seasons.
Both times, they won the lottery.
In 2016, it landed future NHL Hall of Famer Auston Matthews. This year, it will give them the best prospect in years, Gavin McKenna.
Kevin Maggiore of 98.5 The Sports Hub called out the NHL live on the air as he reacted to Toronto's head-turning good fortune.
"That is a sham! Rigged, rigged, rigged..." Maggiore said. "They get a terrible GM hire, then their star player says, 'I kind of want to leave,' and now they get the first overall pick.
"You cannot convince me that draft lotteries are not rigged... The NHL Draft Lottery has always been rigged, don't let anyone tell you it's not rigged."
The NHL PORKED the Bruins in the NHL Draft Lottery 🤯
The 2026 NHL Draft Lottery delivered the result Bruins fans were hoping to avoid. By winning the lottery and securing the No. 1 overall pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs successfully triggered the top-five protection clause on the pick owed to Boston.
The ping-pong balls falling in Toronto's favor means the Maple Leafs will keep their selection to draft Penn State superstar Gavin McKenna. For the Bruins, the outcome means their wait for a first-round return from the March 2025 trade for Brendan Carlo continues.
Because the pick landed inside the top five, the terms of the deal dictate that the asset now shifts to the future. Toronto will retain its 2026 selection, and Boston is now slated to receive a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 instead.
With the ping-pong balls finally at rest, here is the complete 2026 NHL Draft order and a closer look at how tonight's results affected the Bruins
How the NHL Draft Lottery odds work
The lottery determined the order for the first 16 picks of the first round, including teams that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well as teams that acquired those first-round draft slots through trades.
The Canucks had the best chance to win the first lottery draw at 18.5 percent, but their actual odds of receiving the No. 1 pick were listed at 25.5 percent because of the NHL’s 10-spot move-up rule. If certain lower-seeded teams win the draw but cannot jump all the way to No. 1, Vancouver can still end up with the top pick.
The top of the lottery order looked like this:
Vancouver Canucks: 18.5 percent chance to win first draw; 25.5 percent chance to receive No. 1
Chicago Blackhawks: 13.5 percent
New York Rangers: 11.5 percent
Calgary Flames: 9.5 percent
Toronto Maple Leafs’ pick: 8.5 percent, conditional to Boston
Teams
Odds
Combinations (out of 1,000)
Vancouver Canucks
18.5%
185
Chicago Blackhawks
13.5%
135
New York Rangers
11.5%
115
Calgary Flames
9.5%
95
Toronto Maple Leafs (cond. to BOS)*
8.5%
85
Seattle Kraken
7.5%
75
Winnipeg Jets
6.5%
65
Florida Panthers
6.0%
60
San Jose Sharks
5.0%
50
Nashville Predators
3.5%
35
St. Louis Blues
3.0%
30
New Jersey Devils
2.5%
25
New York Islanders
2.0%
20
Columbus Blue Jackets
1.5%
15
St. Louis Blues (from DET)
0.5%
5
Washington Capitals
0.5%
5
* If Toronto's first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is a top-five pick following the Lottery, Toronto will instead transfer its 2027 or 2028 first-round pick to Boston.
Though, the night's results turned out different than expected. The Maple Leafs moved all the way up to the No. 1 pick, meaning that the Bruins will have to wait until 2027 or 2028 for the extra first rounder. The San Jose Sharks also moved up to the No. 2 pick, meaning the three teams with the highest odds — the Canucks, Blackhawks and Rangers — all moved down a spot.
Here is the complete draft order for the top 16 after Tuesday night:
Pick
Team
1
Toronto Maple Leafs
2
San Jose Sharks
3
Vancouver Canucks
4
Chicago Blackhawks
5
New York Rangers
6
Calgary Flames
7
Seattle Kraken
8
Winnipeg Jets
9
Florida Panthers
10
Nashville Predators
11
St. Louis Blues
12
New Jersey Devils
13
New York Islanders
14
Columbus Blue Jackets
15
St. Louis Blues (from Detroit Red Wings)
16
Washington Capitals
What Bruins fans should root for
For Boston, the best-case scenario was not Toronto landing a top pick. Though, since Toronto landed in the top-five, they get to protect the pick.
This means the Bruins will have to wait until 2027 or 2028 for Toronto’s first-rounder, extending the timeline for this trade to finally pay dividends for the front office in Boston.
While securing a high pick in a deep 2026 class would have been a major win, the focus now shifts toward cheering for a Toronto collapse next season. Since the 2026 pick is officially staying in Ontario, the Bruins' best-case scenario is that the Maple Leafs struggle significantly over the next year or two, potentially turning that deferred asset into an unprotected lottery pick in 2027 or 2028.
The Boston Bruins were riding a high all season when it began to look like their trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs would pay off to the tune of a top-seven pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The pick came as the sweetener in a deal that sent Brandon Carlo to Toronto in return for Fraser Minten and a first.
However, the pick was top-five protected. Bruins fans were watching Tuesday night's nationally televised NHL Draft Lottery to see if they would be receiving the Maple Leafs' pick in June's draft.
They didn't have to watch for long, as the first ball drawn in the entire event awarded the Maple Leafs the first overall selection, and ended the Bruins' hopes of receiving the pick.
Coming into the lottery, Boston had a higher-than-58% chance, or 5-in-8, that the Maple Leafs' pick would fall between picks five and seven.
Toronto had just a 9% chance of receiving the first overall pick. They had just one ball in the hopper.
The silver lining is that Boston will still receive either Toronto's 2027 or 2028 first-round pick, but it is rather unlikely that the pick will have as high a chance of being in the top seven.
Boston still holds seven selections in this year's draft, including their own first-round pick, one second-round pick, one third-round pick, three fourth-round picks and one seventh-round pick.
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