As the Toronto Maple Leafs regroup from their first missed post-season in a decade, some fresh sets of eyes will get to reworking the roster.
General manager John Chayka, introduced alongside senior executive advisor Mats Sundin by MLSE CEO Keith Pelley on Monday, said he still sees “upside” in a Maple Leafs group that finished 28th leaguewide.
“The optimistic, hopeful side is I really do believe this team has a lot of latent upside. I think a lot of the players underperformed. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to get in there and find ways to do a better job with the internal group,” he said.
However, Chayka — who has not worked in the NHL since resigning from the Arizona Coyotes in 2020 — also acknowledged the need for change.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us to put the best team on the ice that we can. And it’s gonna take a high hit rate, it’s gonna take some creativity, we’re gonna have to have some things go our way, but we certainly feel like we’re well-positioned with a core group,” he said.
“We have some players that are some of the best players that wear this sweater. It’s on Mats and myself to put in place the structure and the principle and give them the resources to go out and accomplish their goals.”
One of those changes could come behind the bench as head coach Craig Berube faces an uncertain future.
Chayka said he and Sundin would meet with Berube in the coming days.
“I talked to Craig last night and, look, he’s a guy that’s a respected leader for over decades in the National Hockey League. I think he’s a tremendous coach, a Stanley Cup coach, and a good person. We had a conversation, it was brief, we’re going to get together later this week with Mats and go through it all,” Chayka said.
“Mats and I are coming in as outsiders. He’s been fully here the past few years with the team, so we want to listen and learn and understand his perspective and then go forward from there.”
Meanwhile, Chayka also said his experience with the Coyotes “shaped him” as he takes on his second role atop an NHL team’s hockey operations.
The 36-year-old was suspended from the NHL for the 2021 calendar year after pursuing job opportunities with other teams without permission from Arizona. He also helped cost the Coyotes second- and fourth-round picks as punishment for hosting a private combine with prospects.
During his time with the Coyotes, questions about the team’s future in the city also percolated throughout.
“That experience shaped me. It required discipline, creativity and resilience. I’ve made decisions I’m proud of and I’ve also mistakes I’ve learned from … and I’m better because of it,” Chayka said.
Chayka, who took over the Coyotes as the youngest GM in league history at 26, referred to Arizona as “a really complicated situation”
“It was the biggest challenge I ever took on in my life and it was, honestly, the hardest thing I did, and also in a lot of ways the most rewarding. I took it on at a very young age, met a lot of great people. We were really proud, that group, of keeping the Coyotes in Arizona during my tenure. As I move forward, it really teaches me the value of stability,” he said.