Two top Maple Leafs GM frontrunners are officially out leaving John Chayka quietly pulling ahead
Photo credit: David Wallace, The Arizona Republic
It's now down to two names for the Toronto Maple Leafs GM search — John Chayka and Scott White, and it seems like the former has the leg up on the competition.
Coming up to the finish line, the Toronto Maple Leafs' decision on who will be their next GM is going to be a huge one that will not only have them figure out how to be competitive once again, but convince Auston Matthews they are the right man for the job; and that's a tall order.
On Friday, the Maple Leafs' GM search got a big update courtesy of Elliotte Friedman, as he gave a bit more insight into how the Maple Leafs are figuring things out and it seems like Chayka could be running away with it.
John Chayka frontrunner for Maple Leafs GM job
Friedman revealed that the Maple Leafs had told both Ryan Martin and Evan Gold that they were no longer in the running, and that they were focused on Chayka and White and while they love the former — it's not set in stone.
It was Chayka, Martin and White..they were all invited back to Toronto on Tuesday for in-person interviews, and they were all told there was a possibility that a favourite may be invited to stay and meet with the head of Rogers, Edward Rogers, on Wednesday.
They ultimately moved on [from Martin], which leaves White and Chayka.
I don’t know how I would term it. Obviously, they haven’t gone to the final meeting, the Edward Rogers stage. Maybe you want to call it a slight pause. But what I do think is they’re doing more due diligence.
They ultimately moved on [from Martin], which leaves White and Chayka.
I don’t know how I would term it. Obviously, they haven’t gone to the final meeting, the Edward Rogers stage. Maybe you want to call it a slight pause. But what I do think is they’re doing more due diligence.
It sounds like MLSE is making sure they have all their ducks in a row when choosing a new GM and want to have the ability to keep their options open and not fully commit to a name just yet; White could surprise them still.
Chayka spent five years as President and GM of the Arizona Coyotes before he resigned after a bit of controversy regarding his scouting tactics as well as supposedly breaching the terms of his deal by looking for other jobs whilst still employed.
But he's only 36 years old, someone who genuinely has the analytical and data-drive background Pelley wants, and for better or worse — at least he's done it before.
Is John Chayka the right choice for the Maple Leafs?
Well, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. Chayka is an analytical darling but he also didn't exactly turn the Coyotes into a perennial contender either.
He did manage some savvy deals such as taking on Pavel Datsyuk in order to get a first-rounder that turned into Jakob Chychrun and isn't afraid to make a huge splash; like when he acquired Taylor Hall in a blockbuster trade in 2019.
If you're looking for someone who is unafraid to trade veterans for the sake of the future and perhaps load up on a quantity of draft picks to have enough ammo to work with, Chayka is that guy.
There's a bit of worry considering that he's been out of the game for a little bit, has a controversial past, and other names like White or even Mike Gillis provide a lot more stability and confidence in their vision.
And what of Auston Matthews? Does he believe in his heart of hearts that Chayka is the right guy? Will that hire inspire confidence or are we going to be looking at him leaving after 2028?
But at a time when Toronto needs to really think outside the box and find a new philosophy, adding Chayka wouldn't be a bad idea, but it comes with a lot of cautious optimism.
Gear up Leafs Nation. We're almost at the end, and that means it's almost time to get things started.
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The first three calls the new Maple Leafs GM needs to make the moment he is hired
The first three calls the new Maple Leafs GM needs to make the moment he is hired
Previously on Hockey Patrol