TORONTO — Keith Pelley said hiring the Maple Leafs’ next management group would be the biggest decision of his tenure as team CEO. After an “exhaustive” search, Pelley introduced John Chayka as the club’s general manager of hockey operations, and franchise legend Mats Sundin as a senior advisor.
Hiring Chayka in a managerial role is a controversial one after his history with the Arizona Coyotes.
“We conducted due diligence, and it was a deep due diligence,” said Pelley. “It was a thorough process. I’ve read all the reports, I’ve talked to numerous people, I won’t reveal who I’ve talked to that were close to the process. I’m very happy with where we landed.”
Pelley claimed to have “no concerns” over Chayka’s past within the league, which has come under scrutiny again in a high-profile position. The 36-year-old became the NHL’s youngest-ever GM when he was hired 10 years ago by the Coyotes to fill their GM slot.
Chayka unexpectedly resigned from his post with the Coyotes in July 2020 — one day before the playoffs were set to begin in the pandemic-shortened season. In January 2021, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman declared Chyka had been suspended for the reminder of the 2021 calendar year due to “conduct detrimental to the league and game.” Bettman said Chayka had “breached his obligation to [the Coyotes]” by pursuing other opportunities outside the team and terminating his deal with three years remaining.
Later it came out that Chayka and the Coyotes had hosted private events for prospects out of the NHL Scouting Combine — something that’s strictly prohibited — and Arizona had to forfeit a second-round pick in 2020 and first-round choice in 2021.
Chayka hasn’t manned an NHL front office position since his suspension, and taking on the post made vacant by Brad Treliving’s firing in April is hardly dipping his toe back into the business. The Jordan Station, Ontario native, acknowledged in his opening remarks on Monday that concerns over his indiscretions were inevitable but he was focused on starting a new chapter for himself — and the Leafs.
“I understand (there) will be lots of questions about my path, about my time away from the game, and about my time in Arizona,” said Chayka. “That experience shaped me, required discipline, creativity and resilience. I’ve made decisions I’m proud of, and I’ve also made mistakes that I’ve learned from. I’m human now in all of it, and I’m better because of it.”
Pelley was looking for Toronto’s successor at GM to be “data-driven,” and Chayka was a pioneer of sorts in that respect when he joined the Coyotes in 2016. The Leafs’ executive leaned on Neil Glansberg of The Coaches Agency to vet candidates for the GM job, but Pelley denied rumors about Glansberg influencing his hiring of Chayka.
“He didn’t have a vote,” said Pelley of Glansberg. “But he facilitated everything [in the process].”
Even Chayka can admit the game has changed since he was suspended so he and Sundin will be under the microscope as they work in tandem to get Toronto back on track.
“I’ve been going around, meeting different organizations across the globe, to see what organizations look like, how they’re structured, looking at other resources and other creative competitive advantages,” said Chayka. “From ownership down through the players, it was an incredibly valuable lens. I think if I had not been a general manager previously, that would be more concerning… but I’ve sat in the chair.”
There’s no doubt Chayka has his work cut out for him in Toronto. The Leafs are coming off a dismal regular season effort in which they finished second-to-last in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. Chayka said he has spoken with head coach Craig Berube and will meet with him again ahead of what would be Berube’s third season behind Toronto’s bench.
Chayka will have Sundin to lean on as they re-tool the team. Sundin captained the Leafs for 10 years while spending 13 of his 18 career seasons in Toronto. But he has never held a front-office position in the NHL.
There is history between him and Chayka that goes back to minor league hockey, and Pelley felt immediately they’d be comfortable together. It was because of that he didn’t feel the need to give one of them specific senior status over the other.
According to Pelley, Sundin (literally) didn’t even know what he was signing up for.
“I don’t even think Mats knew what his contract title was until he got the contract itself,” said Pelley. “I can tell you unequivocally that these two gentlemen are totally focused on one thing, and that’s bringing the Stanley Cup to Toronto.”
Pelley had spoken previously about naming a distinct GM and head of hockey operations but in the end decided on different titles for Chayka and Sundin.
“We had no preconceived notions on what structure that we were going to actually move towards,” said Pelley. “But once we got into the process, and as we got deeper into it, that this mix with John and Matt was one that was going to be formidable, and there’s no specific reason for it. It was just, this is the structure. It’s a different structure, but I think it’ll be a winning structure.”
In many ways, it’s Pelley’s reputation on the line now as he backs Chayka as the right candidate to put Toronto back on top. Chayka does know Leafs’ captain Auston Matthews — a native of Scottsdale, Arizona — and knowing Matthews has just two years remaining on his contract will be a factor in how quickly Chayka needs to turn things around.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us to put the best team on the ice that we can,” said Chayka. “It’s going to have to take some creativity. We’re going to have to have some things go our way, but we certainly feel like we’re well positioned with a core group. We have some players that are some of the best players in the world that wear this sweater, and it’s [on me] to place the structure principles and give them the resources to go and accomplish our goals.”
