Торонто Мэйпл Лифс шинэ улирлыг угтан бүрэлдэхүүн болон удирдлагадаа томоохон өөрчлөлт хийлээ

TORONTO — Returning from a summer when change swept through the Toronto Maple Leafs, a group of the organization’s power players gathered at a popular local dining spot last week to take stock of what remains.

They included John Chayka and Mats Sundin, hired in early May to oversee and remake the front office, plus new head coach Jim Hiller, new associate coach Daniel Alfredsson, new head of sport performance Andy O’Brien and other staff. Captain Auston Matthews had an important voice at the table, along with a handful of veteran teammates who comprise the leadership group — which now includes Sergei Bobrovsky, a Hall of Fame-bound goaltender who signed a $21 million, three-year deal in Toronto on the opening day of free agency.

Functionally, they worked through fine logistical details, such as the team’s travel and practice schedules, before breaking bread. But on a deeper level they were also looking to chart a new path forward — “the fundamentals of how we’re gonna operate,” as Chayka would put it later — following five months that included a dizzying amount of upheaval at all levels of the operation.

The evening included plenty of “reflection and discussion” about where the Leafs have been, according to Chayka, and helped set the table for a training camp that opens Wednesday with one fundamental question: Can Toronto revert to a Stanley Cup contender after the calamitous 28th-place finish that triggered this scorched-earth summer?

“I think honestly it’s one of those (situations where) ‘talk’s cheap,”’ Chayka said during a lengthy interview in his wood-panelled office at the team’s downtown headquarters. “It’s easy for Mats and I sitting on 50 Bay St. to talk about it. Ultimately it’s the players, their locker room, their team. These are now veteran guys that have been through a lot. What I heard in that leadership group meeting, there’s still a lot of conviction. There’s a lot of pride. This is a group that likes the challenge and wants to go out and have a chance to prove it.”

Chayka was widely viewed as a surprising and controversial choice by the well-heeled Leafs to serve as general manager, coming off a six-year absence from the sport following his resignation from the Arizona Coyotes in 2020. Pairing him with Sundin — a franchise icon with no NHL executive experience who had lived in his native Sweden the previous 17 years — made it an even more outside-the-box decision by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley.

Their official unveiling at a May 4 news conference was more stilted and tense than celebratory, and it included particularly pointed questions to Pelley about Chayka’s qualifications.

Chayka radically remade the organization in the ensuing four months. To what end will be the question. The 37-year-old would say only that the hope was to build positive momentum when asked, given the veteran state of the roster as well as the two years remaining on Matthews’ contract, whether this was a Stanley Cup-or-bust type of season for the Leafs.

“When you get some wind in your sails, you never know how far it can take you,” said Chayka, who was joined by Sundin for the interview.

The Leafs he and Sundin inherited hadn’t just ended a run of nine straight playoff appearances. One year removed from an Atlantic Division title, they’d completely cratered into a 78-point team, which led to former GM Brad Treliving’s firing with more than two weeks remaining in the season, and later to the end of Craig Berube’s tenure as coach.

However, out of the embers of that lost year arrived an unexpected shot in the arm: an against-the-odds draft lottery win on the second day under the new regime, which was punctuated by Sundin’s ear-to-ear grin while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman held up the No. 12 ball that secured victory.

In came top-rated prospect Gavin McKenna. He was followed by right-shot defenceman Darren Raddysh — acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning and signed to an eight-year extension before he could hit free agency — then Bobrovsky, and a host of lower-profile forwards hand-picked for their specific skill sets.

Meanwhile, Chayka and Sundin overhauled the organizational chart. More than 30 staff members exited, including multiple assistant GMs, the media relations director, the team doctor, strength coaches, most of the analytics department and much of a front office constructed by previous regimes.

The near-unprecedented level of turnover was made with an eye toward setting up the organization for the next 10 years, according to Chayka. He was focused on modernizing some processes and clearing the way for more alignment across the operation, he said.

“We didn’t have some end state (idea) of ‘we had to do this or we had to have this much change, or we weren’t going to change that,’” Chayka said. “It was more just organic and how it kind of flowed in different ways.

“Honestly, we’re pretty thrilled with just the calibre of talent we’ve been able to bring into the organization, both on the ice and off the ice.”

On the ice, that talent includes a new No. 1 goalie in Bobrovsky, a new No. 1 defenceman in Raddysh, and at least six new forwards, including Jack Roslovic, a likely candidate to play with Matthews.

A substantial shakeup, in short, to the group that crashed out in dramatic fashion last season.

“There were some clear deficiencies in the roster, I think,” Chayka said.

The Leafs GM describes himself as a “big believer” in the inversion thinking technique championed by Warren Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger. That mental model posits that it’s often easier to solve problems by working backward rather than forward, and avoiding decisions that will lead to certain failure.

The Leafs have lost six straight Game 7s dating back to 2018, plus a Game 5 in a best-of-five series during the 2020 COVID playoffs. Channeling inversion helps explain why Chayka was willing to commit real term and money to Bobrovsky heading into his age-38 season.

“We’re going into a Game 7 and I can pick a goalie, that’s who I’d want in net,” he said.

Chayka brought up Bobrovsky unprompted multiple times during the conversation — boasting, for instance, about how much the likely future Hall of Famer’s message during last week’s gathering “really resonated” on what it takes to win the Stanley Cup.

New No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky won two Stanley Cups with the Florida Panthers. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

In Raddysh, the Leafs believe they have addressed a “glaring hole” with a calibre of defenceman “we haven’t had in this organization for a long time,” as Chayka put it in June.

Chayka explained he was referring, in part, to the booming right shot Raddysh would bring to a No. 1 power-play unit that has thrived at times over the years but also stagnated at crucial moments in the playoffs.

“Talk to any elite power-play mind, coach, player, and handedness really matters,” Chayka said. “A left shot that can walk the line and get a shot through is great. But certainly as you write the script you’d like a right shot from the top that the defence has to respect.

“I think the other thing is, as much as we like the point production and the power play, Darren’s just a steady hand back there,” the Leafs GM continued. “You can put him out in all situations. You’re not trying to hide him. You’re not worried who he’s playing up against. And he’s gonna go out and play a solid game. It’s not gonna be dazzling, and that’s not what we’re looking for from him.”

The Leafs completely overhauled their bottom-six forward group on July 1 by trading for Raddysh’s former Lightning teammate Nick Paul, and signing Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime to multi-year deals in free agency.

Chayka said the desire to remake the bottom two lines was fueled in part by discussions with current players as well as interviews with head coaching candidates.

“I think it does help team dynamics a little bit too,” he said, “bringing in some of these guys that embrace the hard parts of the game and are willing to do those things.”

The hope is that roles will be more clearly defined as a result, and crucially, top offensive centres Matthews and John Tavares will be freer “to do what they do best.”

Name tags might be necessary for all the new off-ice staff joining Chayka and Sundin this season. Change touched almost every department in one way or another.

“I think ownership here, and Keith Pelley, have been very clear: They want to try to build a world-class hockey organization, not only in the short term but in the long term,” Sundin said. “I think we really tried to improve in all areas in terms of management, pro scouting, amateur scouting, and all that, and have done a great job.”

Scores of new people were hired or promoted, some in jobs that never existed previously — including O’Brien, well known in the hockey world for his work with star players like Sidney Crosby, as the leader of a sports performance department that had thinned out last season.

“I think if we’re gonna win a championship here, you actually have to match the best teams where they’re at in terms of their condition of fitness,” said Sundin in explaining the rationale behind O’Brien’s hiring. “He’s constantly looking to see what’s coming up in this area and where are things going. I do think it’s a critical part of a great organization.”

Many other familiar faces are gone. Among them are Dr. Noah Forman, the medical director and team doctor who had been with the Leafs since Sundin was a player; Steve Keogh, who ran the media relations department for over a decade; and Dave Morrison, the senior adviser for player personnel who began with the team as an amateur scout in 2003.

Hayley Wickenheiser, Brandon Pridham and Darryl Metcalf, three assistant GMs who had lengthy tenures, also departed as Chayka remade a front office that now features Judd Brackett as assistant GM, Jeremiah Crowe as director of player personnel, Dan Palango as the director of amateur scouting and Sean Braziel as a hockey operations adviser.

The scouting department now includes a point person for western Canada (Doug Gasper), eastern Canada (Jerrod Smith) and the United States (JP Perpich). Patrick O’Sullivan, formerly a player development coach, will now run the entire NHL development department after replacing Danielle Goyette.

Perhaps most interesting, in the wake of last season’s dysfunction, is the substantive change in an analytics department that will now be fully aligned with MLSE Labs, a division overseen by Humza Teherany, MLSE’s chief strategy and innovation officer. It’s precisely the kind of alignment Pelley sought in the aftermath of Treliving’s sudden firing last spring.

“With Humza and his team integrating into the Leafs we think it’s a real advantage,” Chayka said. “It allows us to deploy a lot more resources than you would otherwise be capable of. There’s things that different sports are doing that you can learn from or use best practices or leverage or understand the logic and try to apply it in your way. I think it’ll be a great partnership between the groups, and it becomes just one entity basically.”

Chayka wouldn’t rule out the future involvement of Stathletes, the data analytics company he cofounded, but “it’s not something that we’re contemplating right now.”

Hired into the newly created position of chief of staff, former NHLer and Yale graduate Freddie Hamilton will act as connector for the various groups in the hopes of creating an efficient “ecosystem” within the team.

“You see the (Los Angeles) Dodgers and these groups where it’s like the player development informs the R&D, the R&D then informs the major league staff. The coaches are working with the managers, the managers are working with the minor league teams, and creating more of an ecosystem,” Chayka said. “Freddie’s job is to help connect a lot of things that ultimately, as we’re evolving as a sports organization, I think have historically maybe fallen through the cracks.”

For all that’s changed, arguably the biggest source of optimism in Toronto is the fact that Matthews remains.

Seeing the organization take such a significant step backward hit him particularly hard, especially since it came in his age-28 season and stood in such stark contrast to the joy he experienced while captaining Team USA to an Olympic gold in February. The mood wasn’t helped by the fact Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion in his left knee after a hit from Anaheim’s Radko Gudas in mid-March, leaving him standing in a bulky brace a month later when he was pressed about his intentions by Toronto reporters and responded by saying he “can’t really predict the future.”

Even with two years remaining on his existing contract, there was more than a little uncertainty in the air. It dissipated over the summer. Chayka said he connected with Matthews during his first day on the job to discuss “how to win, what’s important to him, what’s important to the group, how do we collectively attack this and get it right?”

It’s no coincidence that the new GM then acted so swiftly and aggressively in revamping the organization. Matthews wanted to see progress rather than vague promises about what might happen.

The possibility of Matthews reaching free agency in 2028 will continue to loom large over everything the Leafs do until the window where they can extend him officially opens on July 1, although Chayka pointed to his previous experience while working for the Coyotes as a reason to feel optimistic about where this will eventually go.

“I was in Arizona and we would have loved to have an Auston Matthews,” he said. “We would have loved to have him bring this to a contract year (before his second NHL contract) and maybe there’s an offer sheet or an opportunity. What does he do? He extends and there’s nothing to do. And then you hope ‘well, maybe this is just an extension and then he’s a free agent and maybe there’s (a chance to sign him)?’ He just extends early (in August 2023).

“All you can say is, like, from a fan perspective all Auston’s ever done is commit to the Toronto Maple Leafs and give them everything he’s got.”

Hope has replaced the frustration felt in the spring.

Matthews is fully healed after a long summer and recently hosted McKenna for dinner. The 18-year-old is the biggest pure talent to enter the organization since Matthews himself was drafted at No. 1 in 2016. And he’ll be insulated by proven, experienced pros up and down the roster.

“We’ll start him off in a position that we think puts him in a position to have success,” Chayka said, when asked about McKenna’s fit in the lineup. “And then you drop the puck and he earns it. We’re certainly never gonna hold him back from anything. But I also think we need to be realistic about an 18-year-old player coming into the league.”

Awash in new faces and a new energy, the Leafs are ready to believe again.

“It’s the Toronto Maple Leafs,” said Chayka. “Every season is an opportunity and we want to always put our best foot forward for fans and our players and the staff. I think realistically it’s a season to try to get momentum back and get a process in place where we feel good that game after game, year after year, that we’re all driving towards the same common goal.”