The exhausting Maple Leafs GM search is testing every fan as three finalists fly home without an answer

With the Toronto Maple Leafs expected to come to a decision in hiring their new GM, it's going to finally put an end to a story that has dominated the headlines since Brad Treliving was fired.

It's been a who's who of candidates ranging from big names like Mike Gillis to off the board picks like Evan Gold or even Mats Sundin. There's been upwards of 20 candidates who could have been named, though it seems like it's been narrowed down to two.

Right now it's a dogfight between former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka and Dallas Stars assistant GM Scott White. Both men offer a lot of benefits, with Chayka a bonafide analytics darling, meanwhile White is basically Jim Nill 2.0; it's not a bad choice either way.

But with it being the only thing on the docket nowadays, it's admittedly getting a bit tiresome. We just want to have an answer and the anticipation feels thicker than Vaseline; and fans right now are feeling the pinch:

Fans are just tired of the constant speculation and the same story being repeated ad nauseum. It's a lot of rumours, hearsay, and fantasy booking and while there's a reason the attention is so heavy — there's other things you can focus on too.

Hockey Patrol's Austin Kelly put it best when it comes to who's on the right track — nobody:

Realistically the only people who know are Keith Pelley, Ed Rogers, the GM himself, and perhaps Craig Berube only so he can learn his fate ahead of time and prepare.

There's a big decision to be made for sure, but with all the work they've done it's hopefully one they'll have no buyer's remorse with.

Though with that impatience and backlash from the fans comes an issue, and that is if the Maple Leafs decide to just have someone in place for the sake of it; it might not be a great choice.

With rumours that John Chayka is the frontrunner for the job, it feels like a bit of a rush job. Toronto hired PBI Sports to find the right man for the position and while there was some debate about who they would go with; did they do their due diligence in the end?

Keith Pelley kept stating that he wanted to make sure he had someone in place by mid-May, and we are 3.5 weeks into April; that's another two weeks of homework, interviews, and discussion that could find you the perfect person.

Why the team decided to simply just toss everyone else aside, make it about two people and then all of a sudden have their man? It feels like they needed to simply put a body in place while everything else gets figured out eventually.

Chayka is a genuinely experienced, knowledgeable, and young GM who comes with a bit of a murky past. If that's good enough for MLSE then so be it.

But if it's good enough for Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs still remains to be seen.

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Two top Maple Leafs GM frontrunners are officially out leaving John Chayka quietly pulling ahead