Chayka? thats a big Meh for me. his track record is pretty pedestrian. He did take big swings, but very mixed results.
Latest from Friedman: John Chayka and Scott White are the finalists for a “head of hockey operations” role with the Leafs
Chayka makes zero sense as the head of hockey ops. He doesn’t have the hockey mind or the experience. But given how stupidly Pelley is brainwashed into the AI advanced stats shit, odds are, he wins the job. Pelley is also a meddler so if he hires a poindexter to “run” the team, he can control him and the team.
White is also pretty meh. His entire career is running AHL teams. He has two decades of experience but not where it counts. He got stuck at the mid level management spot. I’d much rather grossly overpay for Jim Nill.
They need Chayka to be on the team at a lower level and grossly overpaid so he doesn’t care that he’s not at the top of the food chain with a legit hockey mind above him.