John Chayka publicly defended Craig Berube one week before firing him and Auston Matthews is taking notes
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images; John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
John Chayka defended Craig Berube on May 4th. On May 13th Berube was fired. Auston Matthews is going to have a lot of concerns if the Leafs GM keeps this pattern up.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs introduced John Chayka and Mats Sundin to the public on May 4, the majority of the focus was centred on the controversial past of the new GM and whether or not he was a fit for the club. Keith Pelley gave him several votes of confidence and it was a bit of a testy affair to say the least.
But beyond the back and forth between the media, there was a genuine and honest take from Chayka about the state of the team, and he was well aware of the work that lay ahead of him.
Craig Berube was given praise by John Chayka, then fired by him in only nine days
Eventually there were questions about the plan for the team going forward; most notably the fate of Craig Berube. There was a lot of debate over whether or not he'd be with the team come October, and with Chayka openly praising him - it looked like a surefire bet.
Fast forward nine days later to May 13th and there was a pink slip in Berube's mailbox. It was a stunning turnaround for Chayka and crew considering how much Pelley loved Berube, though a serious fan outcry and a genuine need for a fresh start accelerated that decision.
While there was no public connection, a social media outcry from fans started making waves and it was noted by Nick Kypreos that the fan backlash may have played a key part in letting him go; a rare display of corporate actually listening to their loyal fanbase.
A lot of Leafs Nation may be happy he's gone, but Chayka is going to have to be careful because if he's playing with fire; he's likely to get burned.
Heads or Tails: Chayka's coin-flip decision making is going to make Auston Matthews think twice about re-signing
This flip-flop in decision making doesn't bode well in the argument to keep Auston Matthews. Right now, the team has to be proactive and show the captain they are willing to do whatever it takes to give him the pieces needed to succeed.
With Chayka and Matthews yet to meet, Matthews will no doubt have questions about how it went down...and why he nor other players weren't consulted.
What if Matthews has certain demands? Can he trust that Chayka is going to stay true to his word? If he agrees to bring in people that the captain feels is going to elevate the team, then going behind his back to sign different players who fit your vision and not Matthews' is shady business at best.
Matthews can always point to the press conference and the constant reports that the team loved Berube yet unceremoniously fired him a week later. Why would he want to commit to a team that will give him all the praise in the world, then pull the rug out from under him? That's creeping into Mitch Marner levels of tension and we all know what's happening in Vegas.
Chayka has to come armed with answers about why he fired Berube, why he wasn't consulted, who the next coach should be (and also a list of other candidates), then be ready to sit down, be quiet, and listen to the captain's demands.
This isn't the time nor the place for Chayka to start backing down on promises because it's going to lead to one messy exit for Auston Matthews - with that bridge being more than burned to the ground.
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