Why John Chayka is such a controversial GM choice by Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs GM search has come to an end.

After conducting plenty of interviews over the past few weeks, the Maple Leafs announced the hiring of John Chayka. It's a move that nobody saw coming a month ago, as most thought we would never see the 36-year-old resurface at the NHL level.

As many Leafs fans have likely heard, Chayka is somewhat of a controversial figure in the hockey world. It all stems around his time serving as the GM of the Arizona Coyotes, a role which he held from 2016 to 2020. 

Since Chayka was mentioned as a candidate for the Leafs GM position weeks ago, many stories have surfaced suggesting many in the hockey community don't particularly like him. He's been described as having a "smartest man in the room" complex. That rubbed many the wrong way considering he was named GM of the Coyotes when he was just 26 years old.

That said, his perceived attitude in the past isn't what makes him so controversial.

The real issues with Chayka came to light in 2020, starting with him resigning from his position as Coyotes GM just one day before his team was set to take on the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. It was a decision that drew plenty of criticism at the time.

It only got worse, as in January of 2021, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that Chayka had been suspended from working in the league for the remainder of the season. According to Bettman, Chayka had been pursuing other NHL opportunities while still under contract as the Coyotes GM. 

Later that same year, it was revealed that Chayka and the Coyotes had hosted their own private scouting combine for draft prospects, something which is strictly forbidden by the NHL. The Coyotes were forced to forfeit their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round selection as punishment. 

As far as breaking rules goes, that's where things end for Chayka, but there are still more concerns that surround him.

One, for example, came to light in a recent column from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. Simmons explained that during Chayka's time with the Coyotes, he had "so many computer terminals on the giant-sized desk... that it looked like he was trading commodities on Wall St."

The issue, you ask? Well, after he was fired, it was allegedly revealed that only one of the computer terminals on his desk was working. The other five were said to have been nothing but show.

Now, on the positive side of things, Chayka is considered to be very heavily focused on analytics, which is something Maple Leafs President and CEO Keith Pelley said was a big focus when the organization was first beginning its GM search. 

That said, there are plenty of concerns when it comes to Chayka. Perhaps that has changed as he's gotten older, but there are unquestionably some major risks with this hire.