John Chayka's first offseason running the Maple Leafs front office already has two significant departures attached to his name.
Two separate sources surfaced showing just how blindsided both people were on their way out the door.
Craig Berube sat down with Chayka and Mats Sundin for what he thought was a routine check-in.
"It felt like a good meeting, probably I felt like we were going to make it work," Berube said, reflecting on that final conversation before learning he wouldn't be back as head coach.
That's not the language of a guy who saw it coming.
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The Maple Leafs have since confirmed Jim Hiller as their head coach, hired on June 17.
Hayley Wickenheiser told a similar story. She said her conversations with Chayka left her expecting to keep having a significant impact within the organization.
She's no longer the assistant GM.
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Steve Simmons warned about Chayka months ago
Two people, two meetings, two guys walking away thinking they were staying, and neither one is still around.
Toronto closed the year 32-36-14 with 78 points and a minus-46 goal differential, finishing on an L7 skid.
Rank 28 overall and eighth in the division isn't the kind of resume that buys a front office patience, and it clearly didn't.
Back in May, Steve Simmons said he'd spoken to 20 people around the league about the Chayka hiring.
One supported it. Nineteen called it a sham, and some went further, tossing around words like con artist, liar, and salesman.
Watch that clip back now and it plays less like hot take, more like a scouting report that nailed it.
Nobody around the league respected the hire then, and two blindsided exits later, that skepticism looks earned rather than petty.
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Bringing in outside voices for one meeting, letting them walk away feeling secure, then cutting them loose anyway is a bad look no matter how the numbers shake out.
It's the kind of front office move that erodes trust in a locker room before a single puck drops next season.
Berube and Wickenheiser aren't talking about being fired. They're talking about being told, in effect, that everything was fine.
So what happens to the next person who sits across the table from Chayka, thinking the same thing?
Toronto fans have watched a lot of coaching carousels. This one feels different, and not in a good way.
Does John Chayka's handling of Craig Berube and Hayley Wickenheiser worry you about his leadership of the Maple Leafs?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
John Chayka just made a costly mistake that could haunt the Maple Leafs
