The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be hiring John Chayka as their new general manager, according to multiple reports, and it is going to be the first of what is an interesting summer for the team.
As reports have slowly trickled in over the last few weeks, it has now been confirmed by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that the Maple Leafs are going to be hiring Chayka as general manager on Sunday afternoon. It's a move that has been speculated to happen for some time now but it is all going to be put in place and we're going to have more clarity going forward, over a month after they fired Brad Treliving.
In addition to Chayka, Friedman confirms that Mats Sundin is going to be hired by the Maple Leafs. But unlike earlier speculation that it is going to be in a very senior hockey operations position, it is going to be in more of a supporting role, from what we know currently. Sundin's official title will be something such as Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations -- a long string of words to basically mean someone that does have power within the front office but is not the guy at the top of it all.
John Chayka will bring something else compared to Brad Treliving, but not much
But when it comes to Chayka, this is clearly a step in the direction that MLSE CEO Keith Pelley and the rest of the organization want. The former Arizona Coyotes general manager is primarily known for creating hockey analytics company Stathletes and being more of a numbers-first guy than most in a lead role of an NHL front office.
Chayka quickly rose up the ranks after being named an assistant general manager at 25 years old and then just a year later, earned the general manager title of the Coyotes as someone who seemed to be crowned as the Next Great Hockey Analytics Mind. But as the years progressed in Arizona, it seemed more like he wanted as much power as possible -- as more stories are coming out that he wanted to only have a front office of people that agreed with him and were of his mold, instead of bona fide hockey guys who are well-established in this world.
“If John had that guidance for everything outside the analytics world, he probably would’ve never had this six-year lapse from the NHL.”@spetershockey joins @RealKyper and @jtbourne to break down John Chayka’s tenure as GM in Arizona.
— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) April 30, 2026
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Maybe the problem was that in Arizona they had some of the worst ownership situations ever in NHL history. Or, he was just allowed to do what he wants and was not ever held accountable within his own team for driving the team in a certain direction (downwards).
But, this is a second chance.
Chayka is an incredibly smart guy by all accounts, but even former employees are now saying that he just needed some direction and guidance. Just like how Kyle Dubas had Lou Lamoriello to lean on and get familiar with how everything works in the NHL, Chayka had absolutely none of that. Now, it seems like he's going to at least have a franchise legend in Mats Sundin to get some advice from, and the bevy of assistant general managers that are still (for now) with the team like Brandon Pridham, Ryan Hardy, and Hayley Wickenheiser.
It all depends on how much guidance he can have and honestly, what he says at Monday's press conference to convince Maple Leafs fans and media that he has learned from his mistakes in Arizona and will bring a more balanced approach to Toronto.
Time will tell, I guess.
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