Panthers general manager Bill Zito has a task on his plate that he has not had to deal with for years: He will have a first-round draft pick.

Florida received the No. 9 pick in the draft lottery on Tuesday night, falling one spot from its original No. 8 position after San Jose won the No. 2 spot and moved up seven spots. It is the first time the Panthers have had a first-round pick since 2021.

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the lottery and have the No. 1 pick. They will likely select heralded prospect Gavin McKenna, an 18-year-old forward who starred in junior hockey and at Penn State, or Ivar Stenberg, a Swedish prospect who has performed well in the Swedish Hockey League.

The Panthers have not picked in the first round since they selected Mackie Samoskevich with the 24th pick in 2021, as Florida has opted to use its top picks as trade pieces to help build its roster in recent years.

The Panthers traded their 2022 first-round pick in the deal to get Sam Reinhart. Florida traded away its 2023 first-rounder as part of a deal for defenseman Ben Chiarot. The Panthers’ first-round pick in 2024 went to the Flyers for Claude Giroux, and their 2025 first-rounder went to the Flames as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade.

Florida traded its 2025 first-round pick to Chicago for defenseman Seth Jones, but the pick became protected because of the Panthers’ performance this year. Chicago will get Florida’s first-round pick next year. The Panthers also dealt their 2028 first-rounder to Boston to acquire Brad Marchand.

Past Panthers first-rounders who are still on the team include Aaron Ekblad (the top pick in 2024), Aleksander Barkov (the No. 2 pick in 2013) and Dmitri Kulikov (No. 14 in 2009).

The Panthers are slated to have seven picks in this year’s draft, with three picks in the first two rounds.

The NHL draft will be held in Buffalo this year. The first round is on June 26, and Rounds 2-7 are on June 27.

Here are the teams that hold the first 16 picks in the first round of the draft, as announced during Tuesday’s lottery:

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
16. Washington Capitals