John Chayka needs to be commended for the moves he made, but his first biggest mistake is costing the Maple Leafs as they deal with an injured blue line.
When John Chayka was hired as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it came with a lot of attention as many thought it was a rash and questionable decision especially since Chayka hadn't been around the league for years at that point.
But in short order he turned the Maple Leafs franchise on its head. He drafted Gavin McKenna, made a blockbuster deal to acquire Kirill Marchenko, made splash after splash in free agency, and brought in a brand new staff that is better suited for both the players and the organization as a whole.
Marchenko deal has a hidden cost that Toronto is paying for now
Turning our attention back to the Marchenko deal, it was a great move on Chayka's part to find a puck-driver for Auston Matthews, and while the points haven't really exploded yet from the Russian winger, he's been a critical part of Toronto's first line.
Within that trade though lies the first big mistake Chayka made: Trading Emil Andrae.
Andrae was included as an additional piece in order to make the deal work financially and within the parameters of the NHL rules. He was never meant to be included per James Mirtle, and the Maple Leafs really had to contemplate on adding him - another reason the deal took so long to complete:
They weren't thinking they were gonna move off Emil Andrae, that kinda happened at the last minute to get the trade through, so they're...thinner depth wise than they were thinking they were gonna be.
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Andrae would have instantly solved the issue of Toronto not having a replacement for Chris Tanev as he could step in for him, and equally as important, give Oliver Ekman-Larsson a much needed break after his rough start.
NHL rules made Andrae an inevitable part of the Marchenko trade
He's not an elite shutdown defender but he has good enough numbers to help Toronto out. Instead, he's putting up a fairly solid start to his Blue Jackets career. He's a good hand - always a valuable asset.
But it was the NHL's 'tagging' rule that caused issues. The league can't have a team make a deal that pushes them over the cap for the following season, and because Toronto needed to make the money work they needed to add Andrae ($1.55M cap hit) as well as Steven Lorentz ($1.35M cap hit) in addition to Knies.
Because the NHL forced the Maple Leafs into adding more, they really didn't have any option than to add Andrae and Lorentz. They're paying for it for sure as Lorentz has been on a tear in the AHL and Andrae has been a solid piece in the Blue Jackets lineup.
Though for what Toronto got in return, it might be worth it still - even if it hurts right now.
Did John Chayka make a mistake by adding Emil Andrae in the Marchenko trade?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
John Chayka makes official decision on a trade to replace Chris Tanev