Things seem to be trending toward the appointment of Mats Sundin as VP of Hockey Operations, and possibly John Chayka as GM if Sundin wants the role.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman, on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Staving Season episode – on the Toronto Maple Leafs and what role Mats Sundin can fill within the Leafs front office. Sundin is proud to be a Maple Leafs player, something they feel has slipped in recent years. Friedman thinks it belongs to the Vice President of Hockey Operations.
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“As I’ve said a few times now, I believe there was a lot of ambiguity about what the Maple Leafs were asking Mats Sundin to consider.
And if you look at Sundin, it’s very clear that he’s proud to be a Maple Leaf. He loves the team. He loves organization. He has repeatedly spoken in defense of the players again, he just talked about how much of a privilege it is to wear that jersey and represent the organization. And it is clear this year that the organization itself felt that, that slipped. That pride in wearing a jersey had fallen.
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And in addition to getting their wealth back on the ice, I think they wanted, they felt the pride was gone, and they wanted to find someone up there who would live and breathe that. And I’m sure at some point when this is all over, we’ll get a full explanation of how they got to Sundin and how they stopped him.
But they, they stuffed him and I, my theory is his subject, if this happens. And what they’re trying to do is, he’s going to be the vice president of hockey operations. That’s my theory.
And it took time, and it took convincing, but I think now they’re actually negotiating with him to do it. And you know, we’ll see what it all means. We’ll see how it all works out.
But like I said, Kyle, I believe for a long time now, they’ve been talking about a bigger role than they were letting on, and I had to find a way to prove that, and that’s what I believe is going on right now.
Someone said to me on Tuesday that I think the other people that were interviewed, because Sundin was not with the search firm, that was something completely different. He did not pass this hockey search. But I think some of the people interviewed knew about it. That they were like that, I think some of them were informed, or it was discussed with them that Sundin would take this position, or he would be focused on this. I shouldn’t say take it, but I was put in this position and they might work together. I’ve heard that a few people have been asked about it.
And so someone else, I believe, will be the GM. And, you know, as we reported, and other people have reported, Nick’s (Kypreos) was in it, too. I think that comes down to John Chayka and Scott White. And if Sundin takes the job, I think it will be Chayka.
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Now, if something happens here and it doesn’t happen, I don’t know where all this is going to go. I don’t know what the backup plan is. But as it stands now, I feel it will be Sundin and Chayka and they should close the deal. Nothing is done until it is finished. But that’s what I believe, it goes on.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQkAUPwnsc
