SIMMONS SAYS: Mats Sundin makes us happy, John Chayka makes us wonder

Chayka has no Stanley Cups or Halls of Fames on his resume.

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Published May 03, 2026  •  Last updated 24 minutes ago  •  10 minute read

Former Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka. Photo by Christian Petersen /Getty Images

When Lou Lamoriello was introduced as general manager of the Maple Leafs in 2015, he already had won three Stanley Cups and been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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When Cliff Fletcher was introduced as GM of the Leafs for the first time, he had just won his only Stanley Cup in Calgary and was considered one of the best at his job in the business. He later was inducted in the Hall of Fame.

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As bad as it may have turned out, it was somewhat the same when Brian Burke was hired to run the Leafs. He had just come off his only Stanley Cup and an impressive run with the Anaheim Ducks. He was brash and combative and full of it — but at the time, he was also believable.

So how, at this low point in Maple Leafs history, does Keith Pelley get anyone to believe in John Chayka as the next GM of this struggling outfit when the announcement becomes official, likely on Monday afternoon?

Chayka has no Stanley Cups or Halls of Fames on his resume. He has been suspended by the NHL for conduct detrimental to the league. He cost the Arizona Coyotes two draft picks for essentially breaking the rules and believing he would get away with it.

Many people in hockey think of Chayka as being something of a fraud. A fast-talker, a hand-shaker and a salesman of sorts who doesn’t deliver much in the end. In Arizona, he was known for playing backroom politics and there is a long list of reasonably credible hockey people who can’t understand what the Leafs are thinking right now.

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How do they sell Chayka to a doubting fanbase? They can soften his hiring by putting Mats Sundin in charge. Sundin has become a more beloved figure since leaving the Leafs and heading to retirement than he was when he played here.

He was an exceptional Leaf — one of the six or seven best players to ever suit up here in the modern era, but he’s never had a management job in hockey before.

Sundin makes us happy. Chayka makes us wonder. How does the second grandest franchise in hockey — the Montreal Canadiens again reign supreme on that list — wind up this way?

And where do Sundin and Chayka, this most unlikely duo, go from here?

Mats Sundin (left) and Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs at a practice in 2006. Photo by Stuart Davis /Postmedia Network

THIS AND THAT

How did Tie Domi wind up as the king-maker for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment? Domi is known for having celebrity friends and acquaintances, but is not necessarily known as a hockey insider. He prefers hanging with Tom Brady and Mark Wahlberg to Bill Zito and Kent Hughes. For years, Domi and Sundin have been close to best friends. They played together for 11 seasons in Toronto, with Domi being the chief protector of Sundin on and off the ice. And for years, Domi has also been a Chayka guy, going back to his son Max’s junior years with the London Knights. That was 14 years ago. Domi apparently played a role in Chayka being hired as GM in Arizona as the apparent boy wonder of the NHL. Max Domi has worn the No. 13, Sundin’s number, before. Early in his career, Domi wore 16, a tribute to Bobby Clarke who, like him, suffered from Type-1 diabetes. In Montreal, he switched to Sundin’s number, a tribute to an almost uncle-like figure. Suddenly, Max Domi has friends in high places at a time when his own career is somewhat in limbo … Connor McDavid is the best player in the NHL. Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA. Both were eliminated far too easily in the first round of playoffs. Teams win in sports. Individuals, as great as McDavid and Leon Draisaitl may be, don’t win … I suspect, because he’s of a certain quality, that McDavid will finish his time with the Oilers. He’s signed up for two more seasons, and then will go elsewhere in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The Edmonton push is all but over. In losing in the opening round to Anaheim, the Oilers looked incredibly flawed. As they did for most of the regular season. It’s not just goaltending here. This is a masters thesis in need of examination … Department of Dumb Decisions: The Oilers chose not to bring back Connor Brown this season. Against the Ducks, their penalty-killing mark was an abysmal 50%. Brown is an excellent, dependable penalty-killer. When the Oilers went seven games in the Stanley Cup final in 2024, their penalty-killing was at 94.3% in the post-season … How much does a general manager mean in the NHL? All you have to do is follow Bill Guerin to understand. The Minnesota Wild plays the way he played, with fire and skill and tenacity. What a year this has been already for Guerin. He traded for Quinn Hughes, a franchise-changing kind of deal. He led Team USA to gold in Milan. And now he has a first-round win over the impressive Dallas Stars … If I were the Leafs, I would have waited before deciding on management positions until the Tampa Bay-Montreal series was over. If the Lightning loses — every game in that series has been a one-goal outcome, four of them in overtime — I would have thrown huge money at Jon Cooper to take over the entire operation. Don’t know if he would have taken it, but if you’re the Maple Leafs, would it not have been worth the shot? … The strangest thing about Kyle Dubas’ success in Pittsburgh this season: His three best players were the old guys, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Crosby and Letang are signed for next season at a reasonable combined price of less than $15 million. Malkin is a free agent at age 39 but the Pens haven’t decided what to do with him. He scored 61 points in 56 games this season, 10th best per game among centres, tied with Crosby and Connor Bedard. The questions with Malkin: How motivated is he to continue and how little can the Penguins pay him considering his age?

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Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors celebrates after his team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 in Game 6 of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 1, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

HEAR AND THERE

No sure what will happen in Game 7 on Sunday night in Cleveland, but whatever happens, understand this: If you don’t like what Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett have done in this playoff series against the Cavaliers, check your pulse. You may not be breathing … Barnes, all these years later, has become the player Masai Ujiri promised he would be. He has owned this series. He has been the best player. How long has Toronto waited for Auston Matthews, William Nylander or Mitch Marner to come up huge the way Barnes and Barrett have so far in this seven-game series … Playoffs define people. Wasn’t sure what to think of Darko Rajakovic as coach of the Raptors before this series. Now it’s apparent: He’s damn good at his job. Being able to negotiate a roster missing two starters to injury and another who is so very average, and then get that much out of the kids and nobodies is impressive. What’s also impressive: GM Bobby Webster has hit big on the past two first-round picks, Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walter. Playing without the $40-million flop Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, Walter has scored 20 and 24 points the past two games against Cleveland. That’s five more points than the legend James Harden scored in Games 5 and 6. Murray-Boyles, who’s a mix of Charles Barkley and Wes Unseld on the court — a short big man — played 40 minutes in Friday night’s overtime win, scoring 17 points, pulling down seven rebounds, blocking three shots and being a force on the floor … The winning overtime shot Friday night was at the same end of the Scotiabank Arena court that Kawhi Leonard hit his bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce corner jumper against the Philadelphia 76ers, the most famous shot in Raptors history. Barrett let it go from three, it hit the back of the rim, bounced incredibly high above it, then fell straight through the hoop silently. The Raptors are playing Sunday because Barrett hit that prayer of a shot. He’s averaging 24.3 points against the Cavs, Barnes is averaging 24.2. Harden is averaging 21 points a game and Donovan Mitchell, who started the series on fire, is averaging 23 points a game. Mitchell scored 77 points in the first three games, 63 in the past three … The best parts of the Raptors: The play of Barrett and Barnes. Second best: The play of the kids Walter, Murray-Boyles and Jamal Shead. The worst part: Some dreadful long-term contracts signed. Quickley has $97 million and three years to go. Ingram has $80 million and two more years. The deals didn’t make sense at the time and make less sense now … My favourite Cavaliers player on name alone: Keon Ellis. Shouldn’t he be playing for Maple Leaf Sports?

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Philadelphia Phillies manager Don Mattingly. Photo by Mitchell Leff /Getty Images

SCENE AND HEARD

The day Don Mattingly went to work for his son in Philadelphia was the day you knew he would be the next manager of the Phillies. I’m happy for Mattingly, one of the great people in baseball. But at the same time so sorry for Rob Thomson, the small-town Ontario guy who had a .568 winning percentage with the Phillies. That’s a 92-win pace. Hopefully, he’s back managing somewhere soon … Thomson did the rare thing and had a press availability the day after his firing. He didn’t want to go out without having his say. A lot of managers don’t do that. They disappear after being fired. The late Jimy Williams never spoke about his firing by the Blue Jays and found the subject distasteful … As bad as April was for the Blue Jays, record-wise and health-wise, the American League is so terrible this early season that the Jays were still only half a game out of a wild-card spot heading into Saturday’s action. There are four teams with winning record in the AL and 11 teams below .500 … Kazuma Okamoto isn’t much of a third baseman, but the guy can clearly hit. He leads the Jays in home runs and RBIs. That wasn’t expected by anyone … Best trade Ross Atkins has made: Picking up Louis Varland from Minnesota. Why would the Twins not want this guy? He’s terrific and signed long-term at reasonable money … The Red Sox used to represent something in baseball. Power. Strength. Style. Success. A destination franchise. Now seemingly lost in the baseball wilderness, almost as lost as they’ve been in years … Baseball is better when the Yankees and Red Sox are both great … I’d rather Dylan Cease strike out fewer batters and get through the sixth inning most starts. Jays are only 7-6 in games started by the top of their rotation, Cease and Kevin Gausman … Bet you didn’t know that Montreal pest Josh Anderson was a skinny kid who played third base, the outfield and pitched a little for a Georgetown Eagles bantam team that won a Canadian championship in 2009. The coach of that club: Hall of Fame baseball writer Bob Elliott.

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Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris raises the Grey Cup at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building during the Official Championship Parade on Nov. 18, 2025 in Regina. Photo by Kayle Neis /Postmedia Network

AND ANOTHER THING

Two immediate problems with the CFL’s altered playoff format. One, there’s no way eight teams in a nine-team league should make the playoffs. That’s 89% of members getting post-season participation. It basically renders the regular season as meaningless. In baseball, 40% of teams qualify for the post-season; 50% in the NHL; 53.3% in the NBA; 43.7% in the NFL. Also don’t like the complicated matter of the new format: If you can’t explain how the playoffs work to someone in a couple of sentences, it’s too complicated … For some reason, hockey people make fun of the Lady Byng Trophy, like it’s embarrassing to win an award given out for sportsmanship and gentlemanly play in the NHL. But any award that’s been won by Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull and Brett Hull, Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Dave Keon, Jean Ratelle, Gil Perreault, Stan Mikita, Joe Sakic, Pavel Datsyuk, Nathan MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov and Johnny Gaudreau has to be worth taking home … One question looking back: How did Nick Lidstrom never win the Lady Byng? Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy as top defenceman seven times: He probably should have taken home seven Lady Byngs … I look forward to the day that the mainstream sports fan is outraged that the Toronto Sceptres missed the playoffs in the PWHL. I want to hear somebody say how bad it is for women’s hockey that Toronto is not part of the post-season … My advice for those running hockey playoff pools in the future. Ban the points gained from empty-net goals. There are too many of them being registered. Goalies are being pulled earlier than ever and more empty-net goals are being scored. Those points shouldn’t count … Five years after leaving the Leafs, Freddie Andersen is more than just kicking around. He has a .955 save percentage and a 1.10 goals against average through one round of the playoffs. The Hurricanes should take out Philly in five games … Happy birthday to Nylander (30), Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson (54), Jaccob Slavin (32), Amir Johnson (39), Paul George (36), Chet Holmgren (24), Rich Butler (53), Charlie O’Brien (66), Wes Welker (45), Roy Lee Jackson (72) and Dave Hutchison (74) … And hey, whatever became of Aaron Sanchez?

Read More

1. 

   SIMMONS SAYS: Reason to worry if these two are Maple Leafs’ GM finalists

2. 

   SIMMONS SAYS: Leafs took too long trying to get Mats Sundin involved again

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