Since he took over the GM position with the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Chayka has been a busy man.

In only a handful of weeks, Chayka has systematically gone about his business, changing several items. He first changed coaches and added talent in the player department by hiring Jim Hiller and completing the sign-and-trade for Darren Raddysh.

Now, during the weekend of the NHL draft, Chayka made more news – first, by drafting NCAA phenom Gavin McKenna with the first-overall pick in this year’s draft on Friday, then, by trading veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo early Saturday, sending him to the St. Louis Blues for a pair of third-round draft picks. 

Clearly, after a subpar season that saw the Maple Leafs finish with the league’s fifth-worst record, changes had to be made. Whether or not you agree with Chayka’s moves, you have to give him credit for being fearless and not wasting any time making the moves he felt he needed to make.

By moving out Carlo – as well as trading veteran defender Simon Benoit as part of a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers – Chayka has moved away from the plan of his predecessor, Brad Treliving, who prized size and aggressiveness over skill and smarts.

Moving Benoit in the trade that sent Joseph Woll to the Flyers opened up opportunities for the young blueliners in Toronto’s system. That change in direction continued with the trading of Carlo, a big-bodied ‘D’ who turned out not to be very aggressive after all.

Adding McKenna means the Maple Leafs will instantly be a more talented team, and adding youngster Emil Andrae in the Flyers trade will give the Leafs better skill in moving the puck up the ice. The Leafs then added three defenders in the second and third rounds of the draft: Alexander Bilecki, Ethan MacKenzie, and Mans Gudmundsson, all considered strong, two-way skaters.

Carlo did not do any of those things, so while trading him does take away from Toronto’s overall size and defensive depth, the Maple Leafs can now give other defensemen in the system opportunities to compete for a roster spot in 2026-27, namely prospect Ben Danford.

Chayka and the Leafs have been firm about adding skill and playing faster, and while it’s still early days in the Chayka era, he’s remained true to that so far. Toronto isn’t wasting time making alterations to the roster, and given that the Maple Leafs have $22.2-million in salary cap space after the Carlo trade, Toronto almost assuredly isn’t done changing things up.

Chayka is showing a fearlessness that Treliving never did in his brief time running the Maple Leafs. Time will tell whether Chayka was right to disassemble the Leafs’ lineup quickly, but you have to give him credit – he came in at a time when bold moves needed to be made in Toronto, and all he’s done, for the most part, is make bold moves. 

The Leafs are going to have a difficult time getting back into the post-season in an Atlantic Division that’s one of the most competitive divisions in the league. Had Chayka sat on his hands and done little this off-season, he would’ve been rightfully ripped by the media and Maple Leafs fans.

However, Chayka has lived up to his initial public thoughts on the roster by taking a bulldozer to the roster. The Leafs needed to make material changes to the lineup, and that’s what they’ve done under Chayka. If the Maple Leafs do get back into the playoffs next season, Chayka’s initial moves could turn out to be exactly what the organization needed to shake off the dismay of the past season and move forward with a new direction that Leafs Nation will be thrilled with.

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