Snapshots: A look at Mats Sundin and John Chayka - BERITAJA

TORONTO – The Maple Leafs will present franchise fable Mats Sundin arsenic their caller elder executive advisor of lucky operations and John Chayka arsenic wide head connected Monday.

The long-rumoured moves announced Sunday day travel aft a disastrous run that saw Toronto miss the playoffs for the first clip successful a decade contempt pre-season Stanley Cup talk for a nine that hasn’t hoisted hockey’s beatified grail since 1967.

MATS SUNDIN

AGE: 55

HOMETOWN: Bromma, Sweden

BACKGROUND: The first European ever selected No. 1 wide astatine the NHL draught erstwhile the Quebec Nordiques called his sanction first backmost successful 1989, Sundin would spell onto play 18 seasons successful the league.

The large Swede’s profession really took disconnected erstwhile he was dealt to the Maple Leafs successful a package that included skipper Wendel Clark going the different measurement successful 1994.

Sundin, who helped his state triumph golden astatine the 2006 Winter Olympics, suited up successful 13 campaigns pinch Toronto, and remains the club’s all-time leader points (987) and game-winning goals (79).

He is the only Swede to people 500 goals successful the NHL — finishing pinch a full of 564 — and has the about points (1,349) by immoderate subordinate from his country.

A instrumentality favourite and skipper for 10 campaigns pinch Toronto successful hockey’s biggest media market, Sundin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame successful 2012.

JOHN CHAYKA

AGE: 36

HOMETOWN: Jordan Station, Ont.

BACKGROUND: Chayka became the NHL’s youngest GM erstwhile he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes successful 2016 astatine property 26.

Before arriving successful the desert, he played Tier 2 inferior lucky and graduated from Western University’s Ivey Business School.

Chayka helped build an analytics institution that aimed to excavation information connected players and teams — an summation to the classical “eye test” utilized to scout and people talent. His clip successful the godforsaken arsenic Coyotes GM was marked by an analytics-heavy push and a imaginative attack for a squad consistently adjacent the league’s net headdress floor.

Chayka resigned successful July 2020 and was past suspended by commissioner Gary Bettman for 1 twelvemonth successful 2021 aft pursuing occupation opportunities pinch different teams while still employed by Arizona.

The Coyotes were besides docked a brace of precocious draught picks for holding unauthorized workouts pinch prospects nether his watch, successful breach of the league’s scouting harvester policy.

Chayka had not held an NHL occupation since until the Maple Leafs came knocking.

This study by BERITAJA was first published May 4, 2026.