Arizona Coyotes Potentially Looking To Pair John Chayka With Les Jackson For GM Role
After reports surfaced speculating the Arizona Coyotes were nearing an announcement on a general manager hiring, Bob McKenzie cautions that it may take a little while longer before things are made official.
The Arizona Coyotes have narrowed down the candidates they want to hire for the vacant general manager position after firing Don Maloney.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the announcement is unlikely to come this week, however, and may come anytime in the next several weeks.
McKenzie mentioned that the Yotes were still working through the process of the hiring. That could mean anything from further talks with candidates, to simply being respectful of the Dallas Stars playoff run and allowing their other top candidate, Les Jackson, to focus on the organization he’s currently with before making an announcement.
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McKenzie speculated that John Chayka is still the likely choice as general manager, but that the Arizona Coyotes were looking at Dallas Stars assistant general manager Les Jackson to come to the desert as an assistant general manager under Chayka and be a veteran presence.
In an article a few days back, Sarah McLellan reminded fans that, “Jackson has been with the Stars organization for 28 seasons, a tenure that overlaps with coach Dave Tippett’s time in Dallas as coach 2002-2009.” That would line up well with LeBlanc and ownership’s stated mission of increasing communication from management to ownership.
With Chayka bringing the analytics piece and a more modern approach to management, Jackson having experience and ties to Tippett, and Tippett having more influence in personnel decisions, the team would have a triumvirate of decision makers to push the Arizona Coyotes into the future.
The most interesting aspect of the reports is that Les Jackson might be the assistant general manager behind John Chayka, when early speculation was that Chayka would be the analytics mind behind Jackson or whomever was chosen for the GM role.
Considering the fact that John Chayka is 26-years-old and relatively new to an NHL front office setting, while Les Jackson is 64-years-old and a veteran in every way to the sport, this setup would be a very bold move by the IceArizona ownership group.
Personally, I feel that bold moves are just what this organization needs. Let Chayka be the face of this new, resurgent brand of Arizona Coyotes hockey.
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Backing him up with the input of Dave Tippett and a respected front office veteran like Les Jackson will help smooth the transition.
It seems like the proper way for ownership to hedge their bets on a youth movement on the ice and in the office.