The Coyotes on Thursday named John Chayka their new GM, making the 26-year-old the franchise's eighth GM and the "youngest to take the job in NHL history, but they also created two new positions to surround Chayka," according to Sarah McLellan of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Coyotes co-Owner Gary Drummond will serve as President of Hockey Operations, while Dave Tippett will double as coach and Exec VP/Hockey Operations "after signing a five-year contract that begins next season." Chayka's promotion "wraps a more than three-week search that began once the Coyotes dismissed Don Maloney." The team "had 10-12 candidates, both internal and external, with Chayka a front-runner from the get-go." Drummond and the other owners "involved in the hiring process" decided if they "thought Chayka was capable, public opinion shouldn't sway their thinking." Chayka in '09 co-founded Stathletes Inc. and serves as its Dir of Hockey Operations. Five years later, he "graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario." McLellan notes the front-office change "extends Tippett's reach from behind the bench." He will be "involved in all player personnel decisions, offering up a blueprint of how the team should play and what on-ice roles need to be fulfilled." Tippett "won't be making calls on the amateur side of the operation." Drummond will "oversee the entire hockey operations department" and will "act as a liaison to communicate among all levels of the organization including the owners, management, coaches and even core players while also keeping all interests aligned." Meanwhile, the franchise continues to "search for an experienced" Assistant GM to "support its entire staff" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/6).
INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE: The GLOBE & MAIL's James Mirtle notes Chayka has "not been around long and has kept a low profile," while Tippett's new contract "allows him to be elevated into the role" of team President down the road. That "gives Tippett far more power in the organization, the most of any coach in the league." But Chayka has "quickly earned total support from ownership" -- especially Drummond, who will "be Tippett's right-hand man." Those who "know Chayka well are not surprised he has become hockey's first data-oriented GM, with a [Cubs President of Baseball Operations] Theo Epstein-like rise to running an NHL team." NHL execs "expressed admiration for Chayka's innovative work with video and analytics, but said that any 26-year-old with limited front-office experience -- and in such an unorthodox management setup -- would struggle to succeed." An NHL team exec said, "Making him GM with one year of experience is insanity" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/6).
WHAT'S IN A NUMBER? YAHOO SPORTS' Greg Wyshynski wrote the Coyotes' hiring of Chayka was the sound of the "old boys club's heads exploding." Chayka said that the "buck stops with him, but the reality is that this is total collaboration between the GM, the coach and ownership." Under this structure, Chayka and Tippett will "combine their analytical and hockey knowledge on decisions, and then take that collaboration up to" Drummond. Wyshynski: "Imagine what the NHL would look like if other teams had the boldness to break their own paradigms and hire outside the same pedigrees and demographics." That "alone is a reason to root for the Coyotes' success" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/5). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said the age of Chayka should be "one of many concerns." Wilbon: "Analytics help you vault over everything else in this day and age and impress some owner, usually in some sports that you went to Harvard and you've got this command of these numbers, and that's how you leap everybody else who might have been in line." Wilbon said the "problem" with the Coyotes is they "make bad decisions at every turn on everything. ... They screw up all the time on decisions big and small so my concern is, 'Is he the right guy, at any age?'" ("PTI," ESPN, 5/5).
