After his first Maple Leafs trade, recalling GM John Chayka’s better deals in Arizona

Maple Leafs GM John Chayka did some good things under different circumstances when he was running the Arizona Coyotes from 2016-20.

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Published Jun 18, 2026  •  4 minute read

Lawson Crouse (left) and Nick Schmaltz of the Arizona Coyotes celebrate after a goal against the Dallas Stars during a game in 2022. Getty Images

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Now that Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has plunged into the trade waters, it’s worthwhile to take a look at some of the positives in his acquisition history when he was running the show with the Arizona Coyotes.

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There’s a contrast between the circumstances in the desert and what Chayka has taken on in Toronto since being hired on May 3.

With the Coyotes, Chayka was the youngest GM in NHL history when he was hired in May 2016 at the age of 26 and, as such, had to learn on the job.

Ten years later with the Leafs — and though he was not in the NHL after resigning from his post with Arizona in July 2020 — Chayka can apply his four years of experience to his burgeoning reign in Toronto.

We can’t say with any certainty how Chayka’s first trade with the Leafs will play out, though the intent behind it appears sound.

In sending goalie Joseph Woll and defenceman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, Chayka received defenceman Emil Andrae, goalie Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft. It’s Andrae that intrigues the Leafs the most, as the 24-year-old is expected to bring mobility and puck-moving assets to a Toronto defence corps that desperately needs those attributes.

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The trading of Woll has been difficult for some to accept, but the play of Artur Akhtyamov with the Toronto Marlies in their Calder Cup run pushed the envelope on a goalie trade.

No one who takes a serious view of the Leafs’ goaltending picture thought that all of Woll, Akhtyamov, Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby would be part of the organization when camp breaks in September. Now, the expectation is that one of Akhtyamov or Hildeby will form a tandem of sorts with Stolarz in 2026-27.

What were Chayka’s hits in Arizona?

Though the Coyotes didn’t have post-season success on Chayka’s watch, some of the acquisitions he made continue to have a positive impact.

That would be with the Utah Mammoth, into which the Coyotes morphed for the 2024-25 season.

On the trade front, one of Chayka’s first moves was to get forward Lawson Crouse in a swap with the Florida Panthers in August 2016, sending a couple of draft picks the other way.

Then a prospect who had enjoyed a good junior career with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, Crouse was the 11th pick overall by Florida in 2015.

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The Ontario native went on to be durable player for both Arizona and Utah and is coming off a 24-goal season, matching his career high.

In November 2018, Chayka made what would become his best trade as Coyotes GM. He acquired forward Nick Schmaltz from the Chicago Blackhawks, sending forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to the Windy City.

Strome has grown into a top player with the Washington Capitals, while Perlini has not played in the NHL since 2021-22, having spent the past two seasons in Switzerland.

Schmaltz has developed into a top NHL centre and signed an eight-year extension in March with Utah. His 33 goals and 74 points this past season both were career-highs for the 30-year-old.

A couple of other Chayka trades in Arizona stand out.

Goalie Darcy Kuemper shored up the Coyotes’ crease after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in February 2018. In 2018-19, Kuemper finished tied for fifth in voting for the Vezina Trophy.

And when defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson was acquired from Chicago in June 2017, he wound up bringing a measure of respect to the Arizona blue line that had been missing.

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What about some of Chayka’s drafting history?

The first draft pick in Arizona during Chayka’s tenure, Clayton Keller at No. 7 in 2016, has hit stardom in recent years, recording at least 86 points in three of the past four seasons.

The next Coyotes pick that June, defenceman Jakob Chychrun, has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past two years for the Capitals.

Chayka’s best later-round pick in Arizona came when he chose Matias Maccelli 98th in the 2019 draft. There has been a reunion with Maccelli, who is a restricted free agent this summer, in Toronto with the Leafs.

How about the free-agent market?

In free agency, Chayka had some hits.

Radim Vrbata led the Coyotes in scoring in 2016-17 with 55 points in 81 games after signing a one-year pact the previous summer. A year later, Chayka kickstarted defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin’s NHL career when he signed him out of the KHL.

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Behind the bench, Chayka made one move during his tenure, hiring Rick Tocchet in July 2017 a month after Dave Tippett and the Coyotes parted ways.

The Coyotes made it to the playoffs once in Tocchet’s four years as head coach, losing in the first round in 2020.

Tocchet went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons before moving on to Philadelphia, where he guided the Flyers to a first-round victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins during this year’s playoffs.

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