Bryan Hayes

They believe in the value of Matthews on the ice, off the ice, and they want to get him popping again.

Look at last year.

Yes, the wins and losses jump off the page.

They were terrible.

They were one of the worst teams in the league.

But what also jumped off the page was Matthews just never got going.

He never had pop.

He never obviously scored anywhere close to the level that he has scored in his prime.

And I think that that could be a part of this, is that Jim Hiller, I'm not saying he's the Austin Matthews whisperer or William Nylander whisperer, but he's got a connection with those guys.

Yes, and that's Chayka's job, clearly.

I don't know if I would define it as safe.

Because it's not going to win over people immediately.

Again, let's use David Carl as an example.

Someone that the average NHL fan could not pick out of a room of two people.

But...

most coveted college coach, Grand Slam resume.

You hire that guy if you're Chica and Pelly by extension.

It looks like you're a power broker in the game.

You have connections.

You have the ability to sell your program.