Forfeited: The unpredictable tenure of John Chayka

By: Kaiden Brayshaw

The Coyotes organization set a new precedent when they hired John Chayka. Chayka, 26 years old at the time, was the youngest NHL GM in history. His tenure was filled with trades and draft picks, but will always be defined by his exit from the team.

After missing the playoffs in three consecutive years, a floundering Coyotes organization decided to go young, and hire John Chayka. Chayka was seen to be the latest in a league-wide trend of analytics and data driven management.

Chayka was hired to be the Coyotes’ assistant GM in 2015 and was promoted to GM in 2016.

Chayka started off his tenure selecting All-Star forward Clayton Keller with 7th overall draft pick. Chayka then acquired the 16th overall pick and the contract of Pavel Datsyuk, a former All-Star who would never play in the NHL again. With the pick, the team selected Jakub Chychrun, a strong defenseman who was once seen as a potential top-pick.

Later that summer, Chayka acquired a 19-year-old Lawson Crouse and the remainder of Dave Bolland’s contract.

Entering Chayka’s first full season as GM, the Coyotes were on pace to continue their rebuild. With young pieces like Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Dylan Strome and Jakub Chychrun all contending for roster spots, the team looked to be heading down a bright path.

After the 2016-17 season the Coyotes all-time leader in goals, games played and points, Shane Doan, was a free agent. Rather than re-signing the franchise legend, Chayka elected not to extend Doan.

The Coyotes were set to have the 7th overall selection in the 2017 NHL draft. The team passed on selecting players like Martin Necas and Nick Suzuki, instead moving the pick and defenceman Tony Deangelo to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Derek Stepan and goalie Antii Raanta.

The trade was seen as a “win-now" style of move. Both Stepan and Raanta were over 27 years old.

Sadly, the 2017-18 Coyotes were not ready to “win-now” as the team finished in last place in the Pacific Division.

The 2018 NHL draft saw the Coyotes hold the 5th overall pick. In need of a centre, the team decided to select centreman Barrett Hayton over offensive minded defenceman Quinn Hughes and Evan Bouchard.

Behind a stellar goalie play from Antii Raanta and Darcy Kuemper, the Coyotes took steps in 2018-19. The team was set to draft 14th overall in 2019.

On draft day, Chayka decided to trade his pick in exchange for the 11th overall pick. With the 11th overall pick Chayka drafted an offensive minded defenceman, Victor Soderstrom.

Amid an unpredictable start in the 2019-20 season, Chayka acquired who fans believed could propel the Coyotes to a Stanley Cup. Chayka traded a 2020 1st round pick and other assets to the New Jersey Devils for former Hart Trophy winner, Taylor Hall.

After the NHL season was postponed due to COVID-19, Chayka was involved in the illegal testing of prospects, a violation of the team's inability to test prospects before the annual draft combine.

On July 26, 2020, ahead of the franchise's first potential playoff berth since 2012, Chayka resigned from his position as GM.