Today the Toronto Maple Leafs made the official announcement of the hiring of John Chayka as General Manager and Mats Sundin as Senior Executive Advisor, Hockey Operations.

John Chayka is soon to be 37 and was an AGM and GM for the Arizona Coyotes under their final two owners for five years. He had graduated from the Ivey School of Business with an HMA a year before his hiring by the Coyotes. He is also one of the founders of the hockey video analysis company Stathletes. He played hockey at the major junior level before an injury forced his retirement from the game.

Who is John Chayka, and why are the Leafs considering him?
Digging beyond the surface proved to be very easy.
PPP LeafsCathy Squires

Mats Sundin is 55 and is the best hockey player the Leafs didn't draft in the modern era. Sundin began his playing career with the Leafs after the 1994 lockout delayed the season. Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques first overall in 1989, he played for them for four years before they made the decision to trade him to the Leafs at the draft in 1994 in a deal that sent icon Wendel Clark back the other way.

That trade, viewed form 30 years on, looks a lot like a change from one view of hockey by the Leafs to a newer kind of game.

Sundin went on to become the best player the Leafs had ever seen in terms of goals and points and many other ways of judging these things. His place atop the Leafs all time list for goals was eclipsed by Auston Matthews in January of this year. Sundin still holds the points record.

In his third season he became captain and, in his 12 seasons with the team, he also served as captain for Team Sweden. He has one Olympic gold medal and seven world championship medals of various colours.

That world championship success is due to one major factor: the Nordiques and the Leafs played very few playoff games during their Sundin eras. In 18 years in the NHL, he has 91 playoff games played, 15 of which came with other teams. His most successful year in Toronto, 1998-1999, the Leafs lost to Buffalo in the conference finals. They spent several years losing in the conference semifinals before dwindling to a non-playoff team.

In 2007-2008, while accumulating those all-time Leafs records, Sundin decided to refuse to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a deadline deal. As a free agent in 2008, at age 37, he signed in Vancouver after the season was well underway. Mike Gillis, then the GM, has stated he was looking for a veteran European as a positive influence on his young stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks lost in the conference semi-finals and Sundin retired before the start of the next season.

He is the only executive with the Maple Leafs to have a statue on Legends Row. He has also never held a front-office hockey job placing him in a similar position to Chayka's in his first year in Arizona.

The Leafs are set to have a media conference tomorrow where they will all get to discuss the new management structure and future of the team in greater detail.

This video from prior to tonight's Canadiens game has some hints about what we will hear tomorrow.

Quotes from the Maple Leafs article:

“Today is an important day for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization,” said MLSE President & CEO Keith Pelley. “I’m thrilled to welcome John and Mats to their roles, two great hockey minds that will strengthen our entire hockey club. From the start of this process, it’s been about building a championship-calibre team for our fans and our city and today is an important step towards that goal.” 

“I’m honoured to join the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and excited to work alongside Mats and the entire organization,” said Chayka. “This is one of hockey’s most historic franchises, with a passionate fan base who want to win. I'm focused on building a team that is competitive, driven and relentless – one that is in the best position to win for our fans and for the City of Toronto.”

“This fan base deserves greatness and I am grateful for the opportunity to help this team, organization and city achieve that,” said Sundin. “My love for the Maple Leafs and the City of Toronto is an important part of who I am and who I will always be. I look forward to working closely with John as we both recognize the incredible opportunity and responsibility to win here in Toronto.”

Offseason