William Nylander and Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs shared a video of their shocked reaction to the team winning the draft lottery.
The Maple Leafs finished with the fifth-worst record in the NHL this season and had a 8.5% chance of winning the lottery. The hockey gods were looking down upon the Leafs as they shocked the hockey world and won the first-overall pick, with which they are expected to take Penn State University star winger Gavin McKenna in June’s NHL Entry Draft.
It turns out that not only were Leafs fans surprised by the good news, but so were the team’s star players.
Watch the Video of William Nylander and Matthew Knies’s Reaction to the Lottery Win
In a video posted on Nylander’s YouTube channel, the Swedish superstar shared a video of his shocked reaction along with his teammate, Knies, when the Leafs won the lottery. At first, the two players thought they were being trolled when they heard the news, before realizing it was actually happening.
“We won the draft lottery,” Nylander said. “Are you (expletive kidding me?”
After Nylander and Knies checked the NHL official website to make sure they weren’t being trolled, they both exploded into happiness.
“Oh, my God. That’s crazy, that’s insane, that’s wild, that’s sick!” Nylander said.
It’s a great video of two of Toronto’s best players being happy about the team winning the first overall pick, as they both know that winning the lottery can change the fortune of the entire Maple Leafs franchise after they had such a bad season, when they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Maple Leafs Have Big Moves to Make
New Leafs general manager John Chayka has plenty of big moves to make this offseason, and it starts with getting a new head coach. The Leafs are said to be interested in interviewing between 30 and 40 candidates for the job, as Chayka promised he would cast a wide net and find the right person for the job. There is no rush to hire anyone just yet, although the Leafs would love to have someone in place before the NHL draft in late June.
Chayka also needs to convince team captain Auston Matthews that this Leafs team is the right squad for him to play with after they had a down year. Rumors have come out of Toronto that Matthews has doubts about the future of the franchise after they had such an awful year, but after hiring Chayka as the GM and team legend Mats Sundin as a senior advisor, plus winning the draft lottery, things are suddenly looking up for this Maple Leafs team.
As well, Chayka is going to need to make changes to the roster. There are heavy rumors that longtime defenseman Morgan Rielly may be on his way out, and Max Domi has some health issues that may prevent him from being ready for the start of the season. So Chayka is going to be plenty busy this offseason as he prepares to retool the Maple Leafs and get them back into the playoff mix next year.
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