Arizona Coyotes John Chayka Receives Glowing Reviews For Draft Approach
As an outsider entering a very traditional world, the Arizona Coyotes received a fair deal of criticism for hiring 27-year-old General Manager John Chayka.
The kid just might know what he’s doing. That’s what many analysts are saying about Arizona Coyotes General Manager John Chayka after a whirlwind week of deals and savvy moves.
Many were skeptical of the Yotes hiring of a quite young assistant general manager to the head job when former GM Don Maloney was let go in April.
Most of the skepticism centered around Chayka’s age and relative inexperience in dealing with the other, more traditional GM’s that litter the National Hockey League.
In other words, guys who played or grew up around the game.
Considering the fact that many of these general managers aren’t exactly setting the world on fire with their signings, trades, or drafts, perhaps the Arizona Coyotes weren’t amiss to go outside the norm instead of bringing on yet another tired retread.
Mr. Chayka wasted little time in showing Coyotes ownership and fans how he would differ from his predecessor, trading a fifth round pick to Dallas for the rights to negotiate with Alex Goligoski. He promptly turned that gamble into paydirt, signing Goligoski to a 5-year, $27.3M contract to shore up the team’s ailing blue-line.
Suddenly the Yotes were making moves and doing more than rifling through the bargain bin.
At the 2016 NHL Draft, John Chayka and company were eyeing touted defensive prospect Jakob Chychrun with the 7th overall pick. Chychrun had fallen from grace over the past several months, dropping from the 2nd highest rated prospect overall last fall to being described as only the third or fourth best defenseman in the draft.
Chayka showed his savvy, passing over Chychrun with the 7th pick and swinging for the fences in drafting supremely talented, yet undersized center Clayton Keller. The move was a hit in the scouting community, and Keller provided interviewers with a glimpse into his own drive and competitiveness to overcome his “too small” label by saying he felt he could “be as good as (Patrick Kane) one day.”
The new GM then flipped the Yotes ample cap space into an asset, acquiring Pavel Datsyuk’s contract and shedding Joe Vitale’s in order to move up the board from 20th to 16th overall and secure his initial target, Jakob Chychrun, 9 spots later than originally intended.
Critics quickly jumped on the Arizona Coyotes’ penchant for being a contract graveyard.
Some felt it was an overpay since Chayka included a second round pick in the deal. On the whole, however, the acquisition of the contract (which costs the Yotes exactly zero dollars) was seen as a smart move.
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On day two of the draft, Chayka was active again. He traded the compensatory pick Arizona received by allowing Conner Bleackley to re-enter the draft for talented Tampa Bay Lightning defensive prospect Anthony DeAngelo.
DeAngelo was a first round pick in 2014, however attitude issues made him available to the Yotes despite his upside. Chayka and Head Coach Dave Tippett are betting that the leadership in Glendale, specifically revered Captain Shane Doan, will be able to smooth out those rough edges.
It’s very hard to quibble with the haul that John Chayka delivered at the 2016 NHL Draft.
Clayton Keller may well turn out to be the steal of the draft.
Whether his future lies as a center or a winger, the kid’s wizardry is undeniable. Size bias is one of the few inefficiencies left in the market, and the new GM appeared well aware of the opportunity to exploit it.
He acquired five defenseman via trade or pick at the draft.
DeAngelo looks likely to get a long look at camp and potentially join Alex Goligoski as a fresh shot of mobility and creativity to an Arizona Coyotes blue-line that was decidedly lacking behind the Connor Murphy/Oliver Ekman-Larsson pairing last season.
Next: Reactions Were Mixed To Coyotes Acquiring Datsyuk Contract To Move Up And Draft Chychrun
Combining the draft with the acquisition of Goligoski pre-draft means Chayka gets the early rubber stamp of approval from Howlin’ Hockey.
It’s been a hell of a week for hockey in the desert. Let’s see what treats Chayka, Tippett, and company have in store in free agency.