New Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka faced accusations that he is a ‘con artist’ and a ‘liar’ in a remarkable first press conference in Toronto.
Keith Pelley, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO, was forced to defend his decision to hire the 36-year-old, who spent four controversial years with the Arizona Coyotes.
Chayka was introduced to the media on Monday but the press conference took an awkward turn when a reporter detailed some brutal criticism of the new GM by other ‘prominent’ members of the league.
‘The hockey world today is astounded by this announcement,’ the reporter told Pelley. ‘You talk about the due diligence you did on John – prior to hiring him and now hiring him.
‘In the past three to four days, I have been in contact with about 20 people who work in the NHL – many of whom are prominent names we’d all know.
‘And of the 20 people I spoke to, one was supportive of John’s hiring and the other 19 thought it was a sham, to be perfectly honest. Words were used like “con artist, liar, salesman.” How did you come to a different conclusion than I was able to come to in a very short time.’
New Maple Leafs GM John Chayka faced accusations that he is a ‘con artist’ and a ‘liar’
Keith Pelley, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president (C), was forced to defend the hire
At first, Pelley simply responded: ‘I must have talked to different people.’
But when pressed further, he explained: ‘We’ve conducted due diligence and it was deep due diligence, it was a thorough process and I’m quite happy with where we’ve landed.’
During Chayka’s tenure as GM, the Arizona Coyotes were docked two draft picks for breaking rules before the analytics-focused executive was suspended for seeking employment from other teams while still under contract.
‘I’ve made decisions I’m proud of, and I’ve also made mistakes that I’ve learned from,’ Chayka, out of the league since 2020, said in his opening remarks. ‘I’m human. I own all of it, and I’m better because of it.’
Chayka, who became the youngest GM in NHL history when he was appointed a decade ago, added: ‘Arizona was a really complicated situation… it was the biggest challenge I ever took on in my life, and it was honestly the hardest thing I ever did, and also in a lot of ways the most rewarding.’
Chayka started a hockey analytics company before working for the Coyotes and has a number of business interests. He was asked following the formal news conference why he is viewed so negatively in some league circles.
‘Maybe I didn’t value relationships as much as I should have in the human connection,’ he said. ‘That was (age) 26, and now I’m 36. I have three kids, married. ‘Life evolves and changes… So do I.’
He takes over from the fired Brad Treliving with the Maple Leafs at a crossroads after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
