Maple Leafs Expected To Hire Mats Sundin, John Chayka To Front Office
The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hold a press conference on Monday where they will announce Mats Sundin and John Chayka have been hired to lead the team’s front office. The news was first reported by Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun and later seconded by Sportsnet. The specifics of roles and responsibilities hasn’t been specified but it seems likely that Chayka steps into the team’s vacant general manager role.
Chayka became the youngest general manager in NHL history when he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes on May 4, 2016 – at the age of 26. He was championed as an innovative, analytical thinker at the time and held onto the Coyotes role through four seasons – also filling the President Of Hockey Operations role for the latter three. Arizona only made the playoffs in Chayka’s last season but he suddenly resigned from his roles just one day before the team kicked off the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The decision came just eight months after Chayka agreed to a mutli-year extension with the Coyotes.
The NHL suspended Chayka from working in the league in 2021, after it was revealed that he had entertained roles with other teams while still under contract with the Coyotes. The league also discovered that Chayka and the Coyotes had held private draft combines, something strictly forbidden by the league. Arizona was forced to give up their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick as a result.
Chayka championed roster turnover in his time with the Coyotes. He added multiple impactful players to the roster, including Phil Kessel, Taylor Hall, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Darcy Kuemper. He also brought in players who still exist as core components of the Utah Mammoth: Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller, and Barrett Hayton. But quantity did not mean quality for the Coyotes, who struggled to click and never managed more than 35 wins under Chayka’s reign. He did have a knack for finding NHL talent in the draft – selecting six players who have gone on to play in at least 200 NHL games, though that is out of 32 total selections made.
Many of Chayka’s gut calls seemed to be the right choices at the wrong time. He will look to correct his timing with a Toronto club in need of any kind of direction forward. The Maple Leafs managed to break out of their first-round slumps with trips to the second-round in 2023 and 2025 – but they haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2002. The Leafs couldn’t capitalize on the combination of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner – losing the latter to the Vegas Golden Knights last summer. Chayka’s primary task will be building a core that can push through the playoffs before more of their core-four step out of the lineup. He will have the boost of young difference-makers Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan, though the former appeared in trade rumors through the middle of the season. That trade could kick off a refresh of the Toronto lineup – as much as the decision to keep Knies around could define the top-end of Toronto’s future.
Sundin will be a strong steward as the Maple Leafs enter a new era. He joined the Leafs in a franchise-changing trade in 1994, with Wendel Clark one of four assets going back to the Quebec Nordiques. Sundin, only two seasons removed from his first season above 100 points, instantly scored at a point-per-game pace for the Maple Leafs. He reached 94 points in the 1996-97 season, enough to cement his spot as the leader of Toronto’s lineup and earn him the captaincy. He wore the ‘C’ for the next 11 seasons from 1997 to 2008. Even in his final season in Toronto, Sundin managed 78 points in 74 games. His career spanned the Leafs’ last two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals – in 2002 and 1999. He left the Leafs for one season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2008-09 – then retired as Toronto’s all-time leader in points (987). He also held the goals record (420) until Matthews passed him on January 3.
Sundin’s number was retired by Toronto in 2012. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame nine months later. In retirement, he has lived in the same privacy he fought for during his playing days. He did support Team Sweden at the 2013 World Championship and 2017 World Cup as a team consultant. The Tre Kronor won Gold at both tournaments. Sundin has otherwise not filled any formal team roles. It will be the same robust leadership and hockey knowledge that guided his playing career that will now guide Sundin’s managerial career. His guidance could be an important presence for Toronto’s top players.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic.
Maple Leafs Denied Permission To Interview Julien BriseBois
Although the reported group of final candidates doesn’t strike much inspiration, it’s now safe to say the Toronto Maple Leafs attempted to go big-game hunting for their GM vacancy. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs requested to interview Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois, but were quickly denied.
Frankly, it’s not surprising at all that Toronto was denied permission to interview BriseBois. As Friedman put it, “I don’t think anyone is shocked to hear that the Lightning would say no. I do think they asked permission to speak to him and were rejected.”
BriseBois, 49, has been the front office leader for the Lightning since the 2018-19 season, after Steve Yzerman stepped down from the role. Inarguably, three of the most important players on the team were drafted by Yzerman: Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Brayden Point. Still, that’s not to say that BriseBois has only been coasting off Yzerman’s success. He was the one who acquired Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel, and J.J. Moser, among others.
Regardless of which General Manager ultimately had the bigger hand in the team’s success, BriseBois was the General Manager of the team during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Because of that, he’s one of the most successful General Managers in the NHL, rivaled only by Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers. Given his track record, there’s no questioning why the Maple Leafs would be interested in bringing him on board.
Now, since they were rejected by the Lightning and potentially rejected by additional teams to speak with their front office leaders, the Maple Leafs appear headed for a split role. Reports suggest that Toronto is actively pursuing John Chayka and franchise legend Mats Sundin for higher management roles. Instead of having one man to lead the pack, the Maple Leafs may opt for a combined effort.
Shane Doan Will Leave If Maple Leafs Hire John Chayka
Last week, reports emerged that the Toronto Maple Leafs had granted permission to the Vancouver Canucks to interview Shane Doan for an unknown role. However, even if a deal between Doan and the Canucks doesn’t come to fruition, he may leave Toronto anyway.
John Chayka, the former General Manager of the Arizona Coyotes, is widely considered to be one of the finalists for the Maple Leafs’ GM vacancy. On yesterday’s edition of DFO Rundown, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period shared that if Toronto hires Chayka as the organization’s next General Manager, Doan has little interest in staying around.
- While the Maple Leafs may be nearing the conclusion of their GM search, the Canucks are not. Still in the interview process with several candidates, another has joined the fray today, as TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Vancouver has interviewed Brad Pascall, the Assistant General Manager of the Calgary Flames. If the Canucks were to offer him the position, it would be a major milestone in Pascall’s career, since he’s been the Flames’ Assistant General Manager since the 2014-15 season and has never worked for another NHL organization.
Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Dobson, Der-Arguchintsev
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took center stage Wednesday during his end-of-season press conference, using the time to forcefully shut down growing speculation regarding his future with the club. While the rest of the team’s end-of-season press conference was held on Monday after the Carolina Hurricanes swept the Senators, Tkachuk was delayed to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Lyla. During the discussions, Tkachuk wasted little time addressing trade rumors that he labeled a “distraction.”
“I feel like I’ve never shown, never said, none of those things have ever come out of my mouth, and quite honestly, it’s just getting frustrating,” Tkachuk said. “I have been fully committed to this team, to this city.”
General Manager Steve Staios echoed that sentiment earlier in the week, calling the rumors “nonsense.” Tkachuk, 26, is under contract for two more seasons and finished the year with 59 points in 60 games. Despite his regular-season production, he was held scoreless in the opening-round sweep, a result he admitted was a “big shot in the confidence.” He plans to meet with Staios following the U18 World Championships to discuss how to improve the roster for next season.
Additional notes around the Atlantic:
- The Montreal Canadiens received a significant boost during Wednesday’s optional skate as defenseman Noah Dobson returned to the ice. Dobson has been sidelined since April 11 after blocking a shot with his left hand, an injury that forced him to miss the start of the Canadiens’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While he skated individually and has yet to be cleared for full contact, his presence is a major step forward for a Habs blueline that has relied heavily on Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson in his absence.
- Former Maple Leafs prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is reportedly interested in a return to the NHL after a productive stint in the KHL. His agent, Shumi Babaev, confirmed that they have already reached out to the organization to express a desire to rejoin the system. “Semyon is considering the option of returning to Toronto,” Babaev told R.org’s Daria Tuboltseva. “We contacted former general manager Brad Treliving and expressed our desire to return to the club’s system. Now we are waiting for the appointment of a new general manager and to understand his position.” Der-Arguchintsev, 25, recorded 37 points in 59 KHL games this season.
Latest On Maple Leafs GM Search
April 29th: According to Nick Alberga of Leafs Morning Take, a third candidate has made it to the final stages of the Maple Leafs GM search. Michael Futa, currently serving as a special assistant to the General Manager with the Carolina Hurricanes, has joined White and Chayka as a finalist for the role. Futa spent many years with the Los Angeles Kings organization as the team’s Director of Amateur Scouting, Vice President of Hockey Operations, and Assistant General Manager.
April 24th: In a new update from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Toronto Maple Leafs are likely down to their final two candidates for their open General Manager position. Still, Friedman doesn’t expect anything to be announced soon as the Maple Leafs continue to do their due diligence on each candidate, who couldn’t be more different.
One of the candidates is Scott White, Assistant General Manager of the Dallas Stars, as reported a few days ago. White was hired by the Stars organization after the 2005 lockout, working his way up from their AHL affiliate to the AGM position in 2016. In his developmental philosophy, White typically values players of high character, often providing prospects and draft options with numerous character assessments.
That’s not to say he doesn’t value talent, but he is keenly aware of what a bad locker room can create, even with the necessary talent to win. Unsurprisingly, the Maple Leafs are interested in allowing that philosophy to dictate the future of the organization. Toronto has undeniable talent, but the team has struggled to mesh well in recent years. White would be an interesting candidate to come in and make some blunt changes to reshuffle the team’s chemistry.
Meanwhile, Friedman shared that John Chayka, former General Manager of the Arizona Coyotes, is the other finalist, and likely the favorite. Chayka has not worked in the NHL since he left the Coyotes organization in 2020, as he’s largely focused on his company, Compass Restaurant Group, along with his wife.
Additionally, it was unlikely he would find another General Manager role before that due to some controversy surrounding him toward the end of his time in Arizona. Chayka was suspended from the NHL by Commissioner Gary Bettman for pursuing opportunities with other clubs while under contract with the Coyotes. Additionally, the Coyotes were forced to forfeit a second-round pick in 2020 and a first-round pick in 2021 for hosting a private scouting combine for draft-eligible prospects under Chayka.
Still, Chayka has what the Maple Leafs want. He has a shrewd analytical mind, similar to Eric Tulsky of the Carolina Hurricanes and Sunny Mehta of the New Jersey Devils. Like White, Chayka would likely implement changes to enhance the team’s talent; however, concerns about the locker room atmosphere may persist.
Friedman pointed out that although the team has narrowed its choices down to two finalists, neither White nor Chayka has advanced to the second round of negotiations, which involves meeting with the Maple Leafs’ ownership group. The first candidate to reach this stage is likely to be named the team’s next General Manager in a few weeks.
The Maple Leafs Are The League’s Most Troubled Team
The headlines about the Maple Leafs over the past 12 months have been largely negative, and for good reason. The team hasn’t been good since being knocked out of last year’s playoffs in the second round, and they’ve been a circus off the ice as well.
But a team that just a few years ago had quiet, steady confidence has become a tsunami of chaos wrapped in a corporate blanket. The Maple Leafs are in trouble, not the kind that can be “fixed” in a season or two – as we’ve seen in Pittsburgh or Washington – but the kind that can lead to a decade of futility.
Before diving too deep into the rabbit hole, a quick caveat. If the right lottery balls fall and Toronto turns this boondoggle of a season into the first overall pick, Gavin McKenna, then all the points that follow could become moot.
However, if the lottery balls fall the other way and Toronto ends up with a non-top-five pick that will be sent to the Bruins, it would lead to a more disillusioned fanbase and more toxicity around an organization that has watched a once-promising rebuild completely unravel in just a few years.
Some might argue that it all came apart in the last 12 months, and there is a good case for that, given that Toronto saw its biggest year-over-year point decline in 109 years. But the truth is that the seeds of this tree of woe were planted years ago, and they’ve been soaking up water for the last couple of seasons, only to emerge as the Maple Leafs’ first playoff absence in ten years.
The issue for the Maple Leafs isn’t a single item on a checklist. It’s a systemic issue that has filtered down from the top and has culminated in this week’s news from The Athletic that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley has become deeply involved in roster construction, something he’d never done before.
The Athletic piece (subscription required), written in partnership by Jonas Siegel, Chris Johnston and James Mirtle, delves extensively into the Maple Leafs’ past season and pulls no punches in its depiction of their fall. History is littered with empires that fell, but for the Maple Leafs, the empire they were supposed to become when they emerged from a rebuild ten years ago never materialized.
How they turn things around at this time is incredibly unclear. There is perhaps only one quick fix: the aforementioned McKenna lottery ball going their way.
Outside of that, the road back to relevancy is paved with speed bumps, and at the moment, there isn’t an obvious candidate in the organization who can lead them to the promised land. There isn’t exactly a litany of candidates outside the organization, either, who could undo all the damage that’s been done to their roster.
Lots of names will get tossed around, but there aren’t many free-agent managers available who have built perennial Stanley Cup contenders, with the exception of Stanley Cup winner Peter Chiarelli, who is probably not high on Toronto’s list of candidates due to a litany of other roster construction blemishes on his record
Some have mentioned Mark Hunter of the London Knights as a potential candidate to take over, but Hunter had a somewhat sour experience with the Maple Leafs earlier in his career as an assistant GM, passed over for promotion in favor of Kyle Dubas, and may not want to leave the stability of the OHL Knights for the chaos of the Leafs. However, money can heal a ton of wounds, and if Toronto wanted to, they could probably find enough to mend fences with Hunter.
That is what Toronto will have to try to do if it wants to turn its current luck around in a hurry and flex its financial might. There is no cap on management, scouting, and player development, and it is an area where Toronto could invest heavily again to quickly retool or rebuild its roster. However, based on the story from The Athletic, it appears that Maple Leafs ownership has plans to move in the opposite direction, though they might not have a choice given the state of their roster and prospect pool.
When Toronto’s lineup is fully healthy, it’s not exactly a group that will strike fear into many opponents. There are significant gaps throughout, and not much toughness to speak of.
The biggest hole is on defense, where the team lacks a true number one defenseman who can run the power play, kill penalties, and play a solid two-way game at five-on-five. Many fans hoped Morgan Rielly would fill that role, but his game is all offense at this point, and that offense has been drying up in recent years.
The good news for Toronto is that they have plenty of cap space this summer ($22.2MM, with just three roster players to sign, per PuckPedia). However, the bad news is that there isn’t much available in free agency, and Toronto doesn’t have many draft picks or prospects to trade.
There are a few future pieces they could deal, but would it even make sense at this point to add to a core group of players who have won exactly nothing in ten years and have now gone through several management groups with almost no variation in results? The constant during that time has been Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Rielly, who have all been on this ship while the deckchairs have shuffled around them year after year.
Is it time to move one of them? Can Toronto even move any of them, given their contracts, no-trade clauses, and last season’s struggles?
The core players have said they want to run things back in Toronto and give it another shot, which seems foolish at this point, given the track record. A new GM who comes in and tries to build around Matthews and company could be in for a fool’s errand, throwing good money after bad as they fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy.
Make no mistake, every GM falls victim to it, throwing good assets out the window to undo previous errors. It usually doesn’t end well and can ultimately lead to a reduction in the contention window, which is exactly what happened in Toronto and elsewhere.
Many teams have done this before, burning through draft picks and prospects in pursuit of a playoff berth, only to miss and have nothing to show for it. The Penguins notoriously let Ron Hextall burn through assets in an attempt to save his job in 2023.
He traded a second-round pick for Mikael Granlund, who had the worst run of his career in Pittsburgh before the Penguins missed the playoffs. Hextall was fired shortly after the season, and Dubas came in and immediately made the same mistakes as Hextall, trading good assets for aging ones, before realizing his errors and pivoting to a retool.
Dubas then systematically moved out the Penguins’ veterans who didn’t fit the plan and moved on, recouping tons of young assets in the process. He also took on bad contracts along with draft picks to help teams that were strapped against the cap.
Some might look at the Dubas strategy and think it could work for Toronto, and who knows, maybe it could. But the issue is that it took Dubas two years to see results from those moves, and we haven’t fully seen those results yet.
Many of the draft picks Dubas acquired are in upcoming drafts. That strategy takes time, a lot of time, and time is something Toronto doesn’t have, given that Matthews has just two years left on his deal now.
Another issue for Toronto in deploying the Dubas strategy is that there simply aren’t as many teams up against the cap as there were a year or two ago, when Dubas made his moves. This means teams may be more inclined to simply bury bad contracts rather than trade them for an asset to get rid of them.
It was still painful for Pittsburgh, as they missed the playoffs for three straight years before making it this year. Retools take time; even when most of the moves work out well, there is no quick fix, only trade-offs. Toronto’s management has to decide which trade-off they are comfortable making before making management hires and pointing this team in a different direction.
Whatever direction is ultimately chosen, the road will be bumpy, but any team that finds success has to endure adversity, some more than others. And for the Maple Leafs, if they do eventually find success, they will have endured more adversity than any other team.
Canucks Granted Permission From Leafs To Speak With Shane Doan
The Vancouver Canucks are continuing to seek out new names for their front office. Their latest candidate could come from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Vancouver has requested permission to speak with Toronto special advisor Shane Doan position per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It was later reported that permission was granted per John Shannon of 100% Hockey.
It is not yet clear what position Vancouver sees Doan stepping into. Doan has filled a GM advisory role in Toronto for the last three seasons, after three seasons as the Director of Hockey Administration with his alumni Arizona Coyotes.
Doan has not yet filled a GM role at the NHL or AHL level but the job is not unfamiliar. He served as Team Canada’s GM at the 2022 Winter Olympics, World Championship, and Spengler Cup. Canada won a Silver Medal at the World Championship but did not reach the podium at the other two events . Doan was also an assistant GM at the 2019 Spengler Cup, 2021 World Championship, and 2023 World Championship. Canada won the Spengler Cup and two Golds at the World Championship in those tournaments.
Doan is much more known for his accomplishments as a player. He was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets and played his NHL rookie season in the team’s final season before moving to Phoenix. Doan became a star in the desert, routinely rivaling 50 points and 50 penalty minutes each season. He was quickly one of the team’s most reliable forwards and took on a top-line role next to hockey legends Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk in his early career. He did not leave that role through the final 20 years of his career, all spent with the Coyotes franchise. Doan was awarded the Coyotes’ captaincy in 2003 and carried it until he retired in 2017. He called his career to a close with the most games (1,540), goals (402), assists (570), and points (972) in Coyotes history. Doan’s son, Josh Doan, was drafted by Arizona in 2021 – but has since been traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Doan’s wife, Andrea Doan, was named to the Phoenix Hockey Exploratory Committee – a group geared towards returning NHL hockey to Phoenix – in September.
How the Vancouver Canucks see Doan fitting in is not clear but there is no doubt about his rich experience in NHL and international hockey. He has now served six seasons in NHL front offices and could fit in a variety of assistant, advisory, or development roles. Before they can brainstorm around a job title, Vancouver will first need to get permission from the Maple Leafs, who may see Doan as a helpful support to their own search for a new GM.
Maple Leafs Have Interviewed Scott White For GM Position
The Maple Leafs have spoken to Stars assistant general manager Scott White to fill their open GM position, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast.
He’s one of many candidates Toronto has talked with in its efforts to succeed Brad Treliving at the top of its front office. Among those names are Islanders AGM Ryan Bowness and Sunny Mehta, who has since landed with the Devils as their GM. There have been varying degrees of speculation linking them to virtually all the other AGM-type candidates on the market as well.
In terms of the level of experience for a first-time GM candidate, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one with more on their resume than White. The 58-year-old has talked to numerous teams over the years but has remained in Dallas, where he began his executive career back in the 2005 lockout.
He was initially brought on by their AHL affiliate, then located in Iowa, as their director of hockey operations after amassing some NCAA and ECHL coaching experience. He was promoted to the NHL staff a few years later while taking on the role of AHL GM, a title he holds to this day for the Texas Stars.
White is also on the Predators’ radar and could easily get a call from the Canucks regarding their new vacancy in the coming days as well. With Nashville looking to wrap up its process in the next week or so, the Leafs may have to make a decision quickly if they decide White is at the top of their list.
Malinoski Transfers To University Of North Dakota
- Maple Leafs prospect Hudson Malinoski will have a new team for his final NCAA season. Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald reports that the center has transferred to the University of North Dakota for the upcoming season. A fifth-round pick by Toronto back in 2023 (153rd overall), the 21-year-old spent the last three years at Providence College. Malinoski’s output dropped this season, going from 23 points to 15 while he found himself in the bottom six as the year went on. He’ll look to play a bigger role for the Fighting Hawks in the hopes of landing an entry-level deal next spring.
Latest On Auston Matthews
Toronto Maple Leafs captain and franchise face Auston Matthews was non-committal when asked about his future in Toronto at the team’s exit day, relays The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke.
Matthews, responding to questions about his willingness to remain in Toronto for the long haul, told the media “I can’t predict the future, obviously there are steps that have to take place. [team ownership] have to hire new leadership and management. So I don’t really know.”
The news comes at the end of a nightmarish season for the Maple Leafs, one that raised questions about Matthews’ willingness to play out the final two years of his $13.25MM AAV contract in Toronto. Matthews’ season was cut short after a hit from Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas left him with an MCL injury. Gudas was eventually suspended for the hit.
The 28-year-old has long been considered one of the league’s best players, and he is arguably the NHL’s most talented goal scorer.
Matthews set a career-high of 69 goals in 2023-24 and also scored 60 goals in 2021-22, the year he won the Hart Trophy.
But while individual accolades have not been difficult for Matthews to come by – he is a three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner as well – team success has been more scarce.
While Matthews has made the playoffs every year except 2025-26, he has made it past the first round of the postseason just twice, and never past the second round. With just two years remaining on his contract, it’s likely Matthews has, or will, ask himself the question of whether he believes he can still win a Stanley Cup with the Maple Leafs. As he mentioned, that’s a difficult question to answer without knowing who will be in charge of the Maple Leafs’ hockey operations department.
But regardless of which individual takes control of hockey ops in Toronto, there are still, unfortunately, ample reasons for Matthews to take a more pessimistic view of Toronto’s short-term competitive hopes. While last season’s trade for Brandon Carlo added a capable veteran defenseman to the Maple Leafs’ lineup, it deprived the club of two of its more valuable future assets: young center Fraser Minten, as well as the team’s 2026 first-round pick. Toronto only retains its first-rounder this year if it lands in the top-five, and Toronto sits No. 5 in the draft lottery order.
With a top-five pick at their disposal, the Maple Leafs would have an immensely valuable trade chip they could use to significantly bolster their roster for next season. Conversely, if the Maple Leafs drop one spot in the order, they will hand a division rival a hugely valuable No. 6 overall selection. It’s not unreasonable to believe that the lottery could have a big impact on Matthews’ thinking regarding his own future.
In any case, there is a sentimental factor to consider when assessing Matthews’ future with the Maple Leafs. While this is not something that matters to every player, it’s worth noting that Matthews is 207 points behind Mats Sundin as Toronto’s all-time leading scorer. For someone that has already built a considerable legacy in one of the game’s biggest markets, the pull of passing Sundin could be a factor in keeping Matthews in Toronto through the end of his current deal.
From the Maple Leafs’ perspective, Matthews’ decision on his future is likely to singularly shape the team’s competitive direction. Matthews’ deal contains a full no-move clause, meaning he controls his future to an absolute degree. NHL history is littered with examples of teams being forced into sub-optimal trade returns for star players simply because those stars decide they only want to be traded to one team. That’s exactly what happened with the New York Rangers’ trade of star Artemi Panarin earlier this year, or the 2021 trade of Taylor Hall to the Bruins from the Buffalo Sabres.
These are interesting times in Toronto, first and foremost because the team’s next GM is in the process of being selected. But beyond just management changes, there could be significant on-ice changes on the horizon as well, and it all starts with a decision – either to stay, or to consider paths to exit – from the team’s captain.
Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images