Breaking: Sundin, Chayka to be introduced as Maple Leafs' leadership duo

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a disastrous regular season and found themselves in a typical postseason scenario: golfing. 

With former general manager Brad Treliving being fired, and Keith Pelley asserting himself in the front office, things are changing for the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season. 

It was reported today by Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that the Maple Leafs would announce the new arrivals of John Chayka as general manager and former Maple Leaf forward Mats Sundin as VP of Hockey Operations. 

The announcement is set to take place on Monday, per Simmons: 

Expect the Maple Leafs to have a press conference Monday to announce the executive team of Mats Sundin and John Chayka to run the hockey club.

— Steve Simmons (@simmonssteve) May 2, 2026

The Maple Leafs finished the 2025-26 regular season with a dismal record of 32-26-14, and eighth in the Atlantic Division. Their worst since Brad Treliving took the reins, along with head coach Craig Berube assuming the role after Sheldon Keefe's firing in May of 2024. 

 Is John Chayka and Mats Sundin the right duo to bring the Maple Leafs organization into the next NHL season?

Considering GM Brad Treliving's record of 129-82-27, and 285 points, John Chayka knows the floor and will need to do his best to reach the ceiling. 

Chayka is an analytics darling and will have an opportune chance in an Original Six market with the Maple Leafs, as the team needs to turn itself around from an ongoing existential struggle. 

Instead of being in the playoffs this season, the team didn't even have the grace to give the fans a first-round exit this season, which had been the trend for so long. 

Are John Chayka and Mats Sundin The Right Choice?

Chayka's record in the NHL as GM is: 131-147-38 (.476 percentage), and in 2020 took the Arizona Coyotes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, once losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. 

While Sundin looks to imprint his own culture into the Maple Leafs locker room, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period: 

David Pagnotta: From what I’ve always gathered from Mats, there’s no screwing around with him. He’s not coming in here to be a figurehead. He’s not coming in here to be a poster boy. He’s coming in to instill his vision of what this franchise needs to accomplish. A lot of that will revolve off the ice as well, but he’s not just coming in here to shake hands and kiss babies. This was important to him, making sure that message is put across. If this does come to the finish line and he is hired officially, he’ll address that when he speaks with the media.

Time will tell whether or not these next moves will solidify the Maple Leafs as a competitive organization in the NHL again. But it can't be any worse than the Treliving-era, can it?

 

Per Haljestam-Imagn Images