The Maple Leafs introduced franchise legend Mats Sundin as their new senior executive adviser of hockey operations and John Chayka as general manager on Monday.
The long-rumoured moves announced Sunday afternoon come after a disastrous campaign that saw Toronto miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade despite pre-season Stanley Cup talk for a club that hasn’t hoisted hockey’s holy grail since 1967.
The disastrous season cost GM Brad Treliving his job at the end of March. Former president Brendan Shanahan was shown the door in the spring of 2025 and not replaced.
Keith Pelley, president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), said he understands fans’ frustration, and noted it’s been about 24 years, when Sundin was the team’s captain, since the Leafs made it to conference finals.
Pelley said he has confidence Sundin and Chayka will lead the team in the right direction.
“I believe the future is incredibly bright for the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Pelley told reporters at Monday’s news conference and thanked fans for their loyalty.
Sundin played 13 of his 18 NHL seasons with Toronto, including 10 as captain. The 55-year-old, who retired in 2009 and was a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2012, has never previously held a management role in the game.
Chayka returns to the league after last working for the Arizona Coyotes, who made him the NHL’s youngest-ever GM at age 26 a decade ago, following almost six years out of the league.
“There is no question that we believe this tandem will co-orchestrate a vision that aligns the organization from ownership, right through to the dressing room,” Pelley said.
Sundin told reporters he’s proud and excited to be taking on the executive adviser role. Toronto has been his home for 13 years and he spent several years as the Leafs’ captain, so he has an emotional connection to the team and the city, he said.
“We’re going do everything we can to get a winning team there and make you guys proud,” he said, speaking to fans at the news conference on Monday.
The former Leafs captain from Bromma, Sweden, was the first European ever selected No. 1 overall at the NHL draft when the Quebec Nordiques called his name first back in 1989.
The big Swede’s career really took off when he was dealt to the Maple Leafs in a package that included captain Wendel Clark going the other way in 1994.
Sundin, who helped his country win gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics, suited up in 13 campaigns with Toronto, and remains the club’s all-time leader points (987) and game-winning goals (79).
He is the only Swede to score 500 goals in the NHL — finishing with a total of 564 — and has the most points (1,349) by any player from his country.
Sundin had a complicated Toronto exit in 2008 before a brief stint with the Vancouver Canucks, but the team’s former captain remains a fan favourite for his 13 seasons in the sport’s biggest media market.
Sundin told reporters he’s looking forward to developing the team with Chayka and said he thinks their work will compliment each other’s “perfectly.”
“I’ve known John for a long time and I think we have the same vision of what a winning team looks like,” Sundin said.
Chayka said he understands the responsibility he has as GM to deliver for Leafs fans, who have been waiting a long time for the team to win another championship.
“I know what this team means to people,” he said Monday. “I know what’s been invested and I know what’s expected.”
“Our responsibility is to build something worthy of that patience. Toronto, I say this with every ounce of conviction in my heart: It’s time. Let’s get to work,” said Chayka.
Originally from Jordan Station Ont., Chakya became the NHL’s youngest GM when he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes in 2016.
Before arriving in the desert, the 36-year-old played Tier 2 junior hockey and graduated from Western University’s Ivey Business School.
Chayka helped build an analytics company that aimed to mine data on players and teams — an addition to the classic “eye test” used to scout and grade talent. His time as Coyotes GM was marked by an analytics-heavy push and a creative approach for a team consistently near the league’s salary cap floor.
Chayka resigned in July 2020 and was then suspended by commissioner Gary Bettman for one year in 2021 after pursuing job opportunities with other teams while still employed by Arizona.
The Coyotes were also docked a pair of high draft picks for holding unauthorized workouts with prospects under his watch, in breach of the league’s scouting combine policy.
Chayka had not held an NHL job since until the Maple Leafs came knocking.
The GM addressed his time with the Coyotes and his time away from the league on Monday. He stayed plugged into the hockey world, and he said, ultimately, the experience made him better.
“That experience shaped me to require discipline, creativity and resilience. I’ve made decisions I’m proud of, and I’ve also made mistakes that I’ve learned from,” he said.
