News

Arizona Coyotes Blast GM John Chayka Who Quit A Week Before First Playoff Birth Since 2012

The Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and former General Manager John Chayka‘s reportedly contentious relationship showed in a statement that the team released after Chayka’s resignation, which came just before the Coyotes were about to make their first NHL playoff appearance in eight years.

In the statement, the Coyotes said, “The Club is disappointed in his actions and his timing as the Coyotes prepare to enter the NHL’s hub city of Edmonton, where the team will begin post-season play for the first time since 2012. Chayka has chosen to quit on a strong and competitive team, a dedicated staff, and the Arizona Coyotes fans, the greatest fans in the NHL.”

This is public airing of personnel issues is quite unusual. These disputes rarely make their way into the media from the mouths of the parties involved. Calling Chayka a quitter appears to be bad form and the fact that he did quit should not be very surprising to fans considering it had been reported that Chayka had asked Meruelo for permission to seek other jobs and that was a source of their friction.

The club also announced Chayka’s replacement saying, “The Club is moving forward and has named Steve Sullivan as Interim General Manager. He has the full support of the entire organization including team ownership, executive leadership, players, and coaches.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

This seems like a fitting end to a fraught relationship, but this may impact Arizona’s ability to find a good candidate in the future especially since they couldn’t make it work with Chayka who was one of hockey’s best general managers over the course of his tenure in Arizona when he was promoted to GM in 2016.

Nico Ribadeneyra

Recent Posts

Paul George Exits With Knee Injury As 76ers Fall To 2-12 In Loss To Grizzlies

With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…

3 hours ago

VIDEO: Nike Pays Tribute to Rafael Nadal With 30-Foot Projection In Front of Eiffel Tower

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…

21 hours ago

VIDEO: Rafael Nadal Gets Emotional Tribute as He Retires From Tennis

https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…

21 hours ago

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Fencer Eli Dershwitz Explains The Art Of Fencing

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…

2 days ago

Two Bears Offensive Linemen Return To Practice, Caleb Williams Desperate For Blocking

Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…

3 days ago

VIDEO: UFC Heavyweight Champion Performs Viral Trump Dance In New York

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…

4 days ago