Just as the ink dried on his new contract in Toronto, John Chayka found himself navigating a familiar storm of league-office scrutiny and tampering allegations.
It didn’t take long for the ink to dry on John Chayka’s contract to become the Toronto Maple Leafs GM before an allegation of possible tampering came to light. The allegation was first disclosed by Frank Seravalli and later dissected in granular detail by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on a special edition of his “32 Thoughts” podcast.
According to Friedman, the league was alerted to potential improprieties almost immediately following the buzz around Chayka’s hire in Toronto. The allegations appeared to stem from two distinct directions, though neither gained significant traction within the league offices.
The first, and perhaps most specific, involves Chayka’s family ties to the analytical company Stathletes. Friedman reported that a relative of Chayka’s contacted a former Stathletes employee who is currently employed by another NHL franchise. That team, sensing a potential breach of protocol or an attempt to gather proprietary information under the guise of "family business," reportedly flagged the interaction to the NHL.
"Initially, I was told a relative of his contacted a former employee of Stathletes... that employee now works for an NHL team, and the team reported the contact to the league," Friedman noted during the podcast.
The second thread involves a separate NHL club that allegedly complained about "improper conduct" related to Chayka’s return to the league. However, in a twist that highlights the often-incendiary nature of NHL executive politics, Friedman noted that when he reached out to the club in question, they denied making the complaint.
Chayka Hits Back: "Meritless"
When asked directly about the league’s contact with the Maple Leafs regarding the tampering story, Chayka didn't blink.
"It’s just a tough one for me to comment on," Chayka told Friedman. "I really don’t think there’s any merit to any of that. As far as I understand, it’s been dismissed. It was just an allegation of some sort".
Chayka was quick to pivot from the controversy to his track record of networking. Despite the narrative that he is an outsider, he insisted that his relationships within the league remain strong, claiming that several GMs reached out to him personally following the announcement of his new role in Toronto.
"I’ve always tried to act as professionally as I can, be a good communicator, work with people to understand what they’re looking to do in terms of transactions," Chayka said. "I have zero reservation about my ability to do that part of the job".
Past Controversies
Chayka is back in the league after resigning from the Arizona Coyotes in July 2020, just as the team was set to enter the "bubble" for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was barred from working in the NHL through the entirety of 2021 by Commissioner Gary Bettman after it was ruled that Chayka "breached his obligation" to the Coyotes by engaging in a job interview with the New Jersey Devils under false pretenses.
Additionally, the Coyotes were stripped of a first-round pick in 2021 and a second-round pick in 2020 for improperly conducting physical testing on draft-eligible players under Chayka’s watch