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Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve known the names for quite a few days now: Mats Sundin and John Chayka. But some around the sport still refused to believe that a former player (a legendary one, admittedly) and a young executive whose last act in the NHL five years ago was getting suspended by the league, would be the new Toronto Maple Leafs front office duo.
But here we are.
The Leafs are officially announcing on Sunday that Sundin and Chayka have been hired to run their front office. Sundin’s role will come with the title of Senior Executive Advisor, Hockey Operations. Chayka will be the General Manager.
Friedman added that it’s a full-time commitment for Sundin. He’ll be moving his family from Sweden to Toronto.
As for the structure of this pairing, he says that the goal will be for the two to have a united front publicly. But he adds that “there must be someone who has the final say and reports directly to MSLE President & CEO Keith Pelley. That is Chayka. The position the organization advertised in its interview process was ‘head of hockey operations,’ and that’s what Chayka will be.”
This move is already drawing ridicule in some quarters around the sport. Sundin has zero front office experience in the NHL, while Chayka was the youngest GM in league history back in 2016 when he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes. He left the team four years later under controversial circumstances. He was ultimately suspended for a year by the NHL for “engaging in conduct detrimental to the league, and breached his obligation to the club.” That conduct included illegal scouting practices, which involved looking at prospects separate from the NHL Combine.
Athletic beat writer Jonas Siegel said he finds it “hard to comprehend what they’re doing.”
“I just find this to be pretty underwhelming,” Siegel added. “I just don’t know how these are the two best candidates.”
The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade, after a disastrous 2025-26 season. They finished 32-36-14, second last in the Eastern Conference.
Fun times ahead for Leafs Nation.
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