Chapter 1: What are the initial thoughts on John Chayka's hiring?
Welcome to a bonus edition of 32 thoughts with John Chayka and Matt Sundin. I know we don't need a long preamble here. You want to hear what they have to say about roster construction issues of the day and things like that. But I do want to mention that with Chayka, I started with the story reported Monday that he was accused of tampering by someone else and
It doesn't sound like it's going anywhere, but it has larger implications, I believe. Initially, I was told a relative of his contacted a former employee of Statlet's, the analytical company the family owns. That employee now works for an NHL team, and the team reported the contact to the league."
Then I heard another story that a different NHL club complained about improper contact, but when I reached out to that team, they denied it. Whatever the case, it doesn't appear that it's going anywhere. What someone said to me about it, however, was interesting.
He said it indicates Chayka's true challenge that the other GMs are unhappy with his hiring and are going to take shots at him every chance they can. It will make an already huge task even harder. That's where we begin the interview with the Maple Leafs' new GM. First day on the job, and already there's a tampering story.
Can you explain exactly what the league contacted the Maple Leafs about here?
Yeah, it's a tough one for me to comment on. I really don't think there's any merit to any of that. And as far as I understood, it's been dismissed and it was just an allegation of some sort.
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Chapter 2: How is Chayka addressing tampering allegations?
Okay, one of the things that somebody said to me was that it shows the challenge that you have. That there's not a lot of grace from the other managers here and that they're upset about your history and you resurfacing in this spot and it will make the challenge for you even greater. Yeah. How do you feel about that?
So I think there's a combination of things, even. I think there's that part that you're talking about. And I also think there's a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs where, you know, I don't think the league's going to do us any favors, you know, writ large. And, you know, we want to get the job done here. And we're not worried about, you know, the outside.
We're going to focus on our team and what we can control here. And in terms of me personally, I've always tried to, you know, act as professionally as I can, be a good communicator, work with people to understand what they're looking to do in terms of transactions. And I think if I can continue to do that, my history has been that I've been able to make good transactions for the team.
And that's my focus.
Okay. So was there any point after your name surfaced in here and some of the stories came out and some of the allegations resurfaced and some comments were made that any part of you that said, This isn't for me. No, not a speck of that from my side. Okay. Can you work with the other GMs in this league? You've got to make deals. You've got to go on group chats with them.
You've got to get things done. Yeah. Are you concerned at all you can't do that?
Yeah, I would just point to my history. We were very successful in transacting in Arizona. I think I have great relationships. I really do. You know, there's still a lot of general managers that reached out to me after my announcement. A lot of them I have interacted with and dealt with from the past. It's a pretty good overlap still in the league. And so I've sat in the chair.
I've made those transactions. I have those relationships. I have zero reservation about my ability to do that part of the job.
Okay. How have you changed since Arizona?
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Chapter 3: What challenges does Chayka face with other GMs?
So I think just, you know, the value of stability in any sports organization across any sport is a key tenant to their success. And then alignment, you know, and as you're switching pieces, things shift and move and change. And again, I think we did our best to try to be adaptable.
But ultimately, you know, a strong owner, CEO through the hockey department down to the bench, those are key variables. What about managing people? What did you learn? Yeah, again, you know, look, I've been managing people from a very young age, right? I founded Staffleets at a very young age. Then I went right into Arizona. I thought I was going to be assistant GM. That lasted a year.
Ended up being a general manager, managing people there. My wife and I have, you know, large holdings of assets. We've got 5,000 employees. You know, we do several hundred million dollars of revenue in that as well. And so through all those experiences, I think you're always learning and growing. And I think it is just important to have really, you know, structured communication.
I think as a leader, there's always, you know, several things going on at any given day and really taking time to pause and, you know, think about, you know, the humans involved and making sure that you're connecting with people on an individual level consistently and meeting them where they are.
You know, everyone's got a life and they got lots of things going on and being considerate of that and continuing to build relationships. I just think you can't do enough of it.
Okay. So one of the things that I heard about back then was came in young, obviously, and you have to prove that you can run an organization with a lot of veterans in it. Yeah. And it was almost like that was your focus. I have to prove I can do it. And it kind of affected the way you handled things. Would you say that's fair?
Maybe. Yeah, I think that was fair. I would also just add that, you know, again, it was a stressed situation and we didn't have a lot of margin for error. And I wore that, I'd say it was important for that franchise to survive and, you know, to get a new arena. And there were these kind of bigger existential type of factors that I was involved in.
And so I think that that also contributed to some of that.
Is there an understanding on your part here that there's no margin for error, like people are looking for reasons to come after you?
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Chapter 4: How has Chayka evolved since his time in Arizona?
I think we need to find a way to get more of our entire group, and William Nylander's in that. Okay.
I guess kind of the last thing I wanted to ask is front office. Yeah. They were initially told after the previous change that there were going to be more changes. Okay. Is that fair?
I would say that there's usually some organic change that occurs in any front office. I don't have any preordained plans. I'm going to meet with everybody. I'm going to get to know what they do. I'm going to give them some thoughts on my vision and make sure it's a mutual sharing of thoughts. And then I'm sure at some point we'll make some decisions. But at this stage, there's no plans.
Okay. I guess the last one I have for you is kind of to put the floor to you a bit here. You've heard a lot said. There's been a lot of criticism. There's been a lot of noise. If you could address everybody and say one thing to them about John Chayka, GM, Toronto Maple Leafs, what would that be?
I just say that I'm very mission-driven in anything I've taken on. Like I said, the mission for the Coyotes was to keep them in Arizona. The mission for my businesses is to give back to my community and build an asset that lasts. And here, the mission is to win the Stanley Cup. And I'm very committed to that. I'm going to pour my heart and soul into that.
And ultimately, I know I'll be judged on that basis. How did this start? How did this happen?
Well, I think I had a breakfast with Keith Pelley about a year and a half ago. I think that was our first meeting. And since then, the last few months, I've had a lot of meetings with different stakeholders. So it's been a long process.
When did you decide you wanted to do this, that this was real?
Well, you know, I watched, obviously followed the Leafs since I retired, but especially the last six, seven years, followed the league, done some work with the Swedish national team and also done TV in the Olympics during the Olympic tournament. So, you know... Just like many former players, hockey is the big passion. And for me, this was a perfect time. Our kids are a little bit older.
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Chapter 5: What changes does Chayka foresee for the Maple Leafs organization?
And I think that perspective, the experience that I have from 18 years in the league, 13 years with the Leafs and 11 years as a captain, seen pretty much it all. I think that experience really can help Toronto Maple Leafs.
So when you said to your family, you want to do this, and we might have to move back to Canada. Yeah. What did your wife say?
What did your kids say? She was, we're going to have to think about that. No, but I think the same for the family. They're older now. I think it's a great experience for our family. You know, Canada for me, obviously for a long period of my adult life was my home and Canada and Toronto. So for them to experience that, I think it's a great adventure for our family.
Okay. So I wanted to ask you, What's your role exactly? Like we understand kind of, but how do you see your role?
I think I see my role to really I think John is a brilliant, high intellect, very progressive, also understands the data, but common value as agenda manager. And I think my experience that I have, I think it's tough to get from someone else. I think I know a lot about the market of Toronto for players or management, what goes on here.
So I'm hoping to be able to bring that experience to the locker room, players, coaches, and management.
Like I said on the press conference, I think there's been some generations, if you look back 20, 30 years with Wendell Clark and Doug Gilmore and myself, some good runs, I think there's been a lot of good things happening there, both in the locker room and in management, and some mistakes as well. And I think it's important to learn from that and help this generation of Toronto Maple Leafs.
OK, so, you know, you've heard some of the comments about John. You saw some of the questions at the media conference. Does that concern you at all?
Not at all. I think John and I met him the first time Memorial Cup for a long, long time ago. I think John. Me and him have a vision of what a winning team looks like are exactly the same. And he's a hardworking guy, smart guy. I think the way the game is being played today, I think it's a perfect match for Toronto to take the Toronto Maple Leafs into the future. So I'm not concerned about that.
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