Former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka has been suspended through the end of 2021 for his actions last summer according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Chayka “engaged in conduct detrimental to the league, breached his obligation to the club and was properly terminated by the club” when he tried to resign after an offer was made by another organization (thought to be the New Jersey Devils’ parent company, which also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and Crystal Palace FC). Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports that the league will not be commenting or releasing any information on the ruling. Darren Dreger of TSN clarifies that the suspension means that Chayka cannot be involved in any NHL business until 2022.
In July, the Coyotes released a statement saying the Chayka had “quit as the General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Arizona Coyotes” but the executive blamed a “situation created by ownership.” At the time, Chayka was less than a year removed from a contract extension with the team. Coyotes ownership filed a grievance with the league, which has now been ruled on.
The ugly, public exit came just before the team entered the playoff bubble, where they still managed to defeat the Nashville Predators in the qualification round only to be eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche. The team hired Bill Armstrong as their new GM in September and have made sweeping changes to the front office, particularly in the scouting department that was penalized by the league for prospect testing violations.
Chayka, who is still just 31, will now have to wait out his suspension if he intends on having anything to do with the NHL again.
Hopefully others leagues will not hire him..If he was or knew of dirty s**t going on then yes get him out of the league…
He can get a job with the Houston Astros.
If league finds him at fault, can the Coyotes appeal their league punishment?
@jimtrott44 – I can’t see them wanting to appeal, other than demanding added punishment…
Love to have that #1 returned or reduced to a #2
If I’m reading this correctly, Chayka has been suspended over the way he left the Coyotes. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with his actions with respect to the draft, so there’d be no grounds for the Coyotes to appeal.
Yes, the two things are completely independent. Those draft picks will not be returned.
The new scouting department which promptly shit the bed with their first pick in the last draft. Brutal organization!