The past few days have seen a lot of drama coming out of Arizona around general manager John Chayka. The rumours of John Chayka leaving the team have been confirmed by the statement earlier today. In a statement from the organization, they said on Sunday afternoon, “The Club is disappointed in his actions and his timing as the Coyotes prepare to enter the NHL’s hub city of Edmonton, where the team will begin post-season play for the first time since 2012. Chayka has chosen to quit on a strong and competitive team, a dedicated staff, and the Arizona Coyotes fans, the greatest fans in the NHL. The Club is moving forward and has named Steve Sullivan as Interim General Manager. He has the full support of the entire organization including team ownership, executive leadership, players, and coaches.”
The team has also stated in conclusion, “The Club will have no further comment on the matter, as the Club remains focused on the opportunity to pursue a Stanley Cup.”
The now former general manager John Chayka also broke the silence with his own statement obtained by Craig Morgan. In that statement, John said, “…I very much wish I could be with the team in Edmonton. Sadly, the situation created by the ownership made that an impossibility.”
The situation is muddied by multiple conflicting reports as to the reason Chayka quit. One source claimed Chayka asked for permission to pursue a non-hockey related opportunity while another claimed an NHL owner asked to speak with Chayka regarding a job opportunity. That same source told Craig Morgan that, “John Chayka is a liar and a quitter.”
The conflicting reports make it difficult to pinpoint why exactly Chayka quit, but a look at Chayka’s statement could certainly give for a potential reason. Chayka cited the “situation created by ownership” as the reason he isn’t with the team. That statement alone doesn’t give away what that reason is, but it does open up some possibilities.
Before continuing, I must fully disclose that the sources I’ve received this information from cannot be independently verified nor can they be named, so this must be taken with a grain of salt.
With that being said, multiple sources have claimed that former majority owner Anthony Barroway was not interested in the day-to-day operations. So John Chayka could, in theory, do whatever he wanted to. He allegedly had the freedom to sign, draft and hire whomever he wanted.
After Barroway sold a majority of the team to Alex Meruelo, that might’ve changed. Publicly, Meruelo seems much more involved with the team and excited about his role with the team. It’s entirely possible that Meruelo might limit what control John Chayka has over day-to-day operations and Chayka didn’t very much like that. Given Chayka specifically mentioning the ownership, I believe that’s what happened.
It’s not yet clear what is next for John Chayka. There are rumors of him joining the Buffalo Sabres organization in some capacity, but the reports of the job opportunity being unrelated to hockey conflict with that. Only time will tell not just where Chayka will go from here, but what actually happened behind the scenes.
However, there is one more aspect to the story. Sportsnet.ca’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that “Alex Meruelo has asked NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to adjudicate the ugly divorce” between the two parties. “It’s a contractual dispute,” one source told Friedman.
Given the timeline, Chayka allegedly explored other opportunities being around six weeks ago, as well as the fact it’s a contract dispute, makes this likely about contract violation. It could also be about compensation and/or Chayka’s eligibility to work as a general manager in the NHL during the remaining length of the contract.