Jets to Pick 8th Overall in 2026 NHL Entry Draft

The Winnipeg Jets will pick eighth overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

The Jets finished 26th in the NHL with 82 points this season, meaning they were slotted to pick seventh overall head into Monday’s NHL Draft Lottery. The ping-pong balls dropped, and so did the Jets, by one space.

Staying at seventh was the most-likely scenario at 44.4 per cent odds, while dropping to eighth was the second most-likely scenario at 36.5 per cent odds. There was also a 5.6 per cent chance the Jets dropped to ninth.

The Jets had a 6.5 per cent chance of moving up to the first-overall pick, a 6.7 per cent chance of moving up to second overall, and a 0.3 per cent chance of moving up to third overall.

The pick will be quite an important one for Jets’ general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to get right. His decisions last offseason played a role in the team’s 21-win, 34-point regression from their Presidents’ Trophy-winning 2024-25, and the Jets could really benefit from selecting someone who will be NHL ready before too long.

This is Cheveldayoff’s highest pick since since 2020, when he used his 10th-overall selection to choose Cole Perfetti, and his first within the top 10 since 2016, when he used his second-overall selection to choose Patrik Laine.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the lucky team on the night, moving up to win the first-overall pick.

The 2026 NHL Entry Draft takes place takes place in Buffalo on June 26 (first round) and 27 (second through seventh rounds).