Steve Simmons challenged Maple Leafs GM John Chayka's hiring during a press conference, citing overwhelming negative feedback from NHL contacts. His pointed questions have sparked significant media attention.
Key points
Steve Simmons questioned John Chayka's hiring at a press conference
19 out of 20 NHL contacts were critical of Chayka
Simmons described Chayka using terms like 'con artist' and 'liar'
The press conference gained international media attention
Chayka is the new General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Mentioned in this story
Toronto Maple LeafsSteve SimmonsJohn ChaykaMLSE
Steve Simmons
Credit: Toronto Sports Rush/BetRivers
Most introductory press conferences for pro sports front-office officials barely make the news outside the local market.
The introductory press conference for Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka, however, ended up making international headlines, thanks in large part to questions from Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons. The longtime journalist opened the presser with a pointed question for Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of MLSE, about the new hire sitting next to him.
âYou talk about the due diligence that you did on John prior to hiring him, and now hiring him. In the past three to four days, I have been in contact with about 20 people who work in the National Hockey League, many of whom are prominent names that we would all know. Of the 20 people I spoke to, one was supportive of his hiring, the other 19 thought it was a sham, to be perfectly honest,â said Simmons. âWords were used like âcon artist,â âliar,â âsalesman.â âHow did you come to a different conclusion than I was able to come to in a very short time?â
âI mustâve talked to different people,â dryly replied Pelley.
âThatâs it?â asked Simmons. âBecause the hockey world today is astounded by this announcement.â
âOkay,â offered a smiling Pelley.
âAnd your response to that?â asked Simmons.
âWeâve conducted due diligence, and it was deep due diligence,â Pelley replied. âIt was a thorough process, and I am quite happy with where weâve landed.â
What did Steve Simmons ask during the Maple Leafs press conference?
Steve Simmons questioned the Maple Leafs' CEO about the due diligence conducted on John Chayka, highlighting that 19 out of 20 NHL contacts he spoke to were critical of Chayka's hiring.
Why did John Chayka's hiring generate controversy?
The controversy arose from Simmons' claims that most NHL insiders he contacted viewed Chayka's hiring negatively, describing him with terms like 'con artist' and 'liar.'
Who is John Chayka and what is his role with the Maple Leafs?
John Chayka is the newly appointed General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, responsible for overseeing the team's operations and player acquisitions.
What was the reaction to Simmons' questions at the press conference?
Simmons' questions received significant media attention, as they challenged the legitimacy of Chayka's hiring and raised concerns about the decision-making process of the Maple Leafs' management.
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âWhen youâve been around as long as I have, youâre used to reactions and explosions and things like that. And yesterday was bigger than I think I could remember experiencing in a very long time,â said Simmons. âBut because of the way I sort of tune out social media, I donât really know that Iâm trending, and I donât really know whoâs saying what or whoâs saying anything, to be honest.
âAnd I do my job and I do my work and I do my writing. And thatâs what I focus on. And I let everybody else have their say. And I donât respond very much to what they have to say. Although yesterday, most of the responses that I received, I canât speak for anything online because I didnât see it. But personally, either emails, texts, phone calls, I would say was about 90-10 in my favor of the question.â
Simmons added further context to the harsh comments he heard from other NHL figures, saying that many of them had reached out to him directly.
âI asked the question for a reason. Why did you settle on John Chayka?â said Simmons. âIf your due diligence was anything like mine, you couldnât possibly have settled on John Chayka. So that was the reason for the question.
âI didnât know John Chayka. I didnât know much about him, to be perfectly honest. You ask one person who knew him, then you ask another person, then you text another person. And then what was happening, strangely enough, is I was getting texts from people that I hadnât reached out to who were saying, you know, this is what my experience with him was, or this is what happened with me, or this, you know, different things like that.
âThese werenât marginal people, EJ. These were people who have worked in prominent positions or still work in prominent positions in the NHL. And so weâre talking about hockey people whose names anybody who knows hockey would know. And I had a long list of people, and I think I talked to about 20 of them. And there was one person who gave John a glowing recommendation, and there were 19 who didnât, or 20 who didnât. I donât know what the number is exactly, but it was incredibly one-sided.
âAnd thatâs why when he said, âWe did our due diligence,â Iâd like to know what his due diligence was that was so different from my due diligence. And thatâs why I asked the question as I asked it. And I picked the words out, and I donât like to break confidences in any way, but I picked the words out of emails or texts that I had received from people in the NHL who described him in different words, in different ways. And thatâs why I asked the question the way I asked it.â
Simmons would go on to say that âNHL GMs⊠and major player agentsâ were among those he was texting with.
Hradek asked Simmons what he thinks of Pelley, who was named MLSE President & CEO in April 2024. While he feels as though they actually have a friendly relationship, Simmons wonders if heâs cut out for the job of overseeing a sizable portfolio of pro sports teams, including the NHLâs Maple Leafs, the NBAâs Raptors, the CFLâs Argonauts, and the MLSâs Toronto FC.
âI almost consider Keith Pelley to be a friend,â said Simmons. âWeâve known each other for so long and been around so many of the same events.
âKeith Pelley has a long history in television and a successful history of television. He is a great guy. I love him sort of as a friend and as a person to hang with, and as someone to have lunch with and someone to talk to. And heâs treated me extraordinarily well over the years. And I think most of the time Iâve treated him extraordinarily well over the years.
âBut there comes points where⊠he has a job to do and I have questions to ask. And thatâs where, you know, the uncomfortable nature of Monday came out. And, I just think in this instance, this job might be too big for him. This is a big job.â
Thereâs a lot riding on the Chayka hire, not just for Pelley but for the Maple Leafs as an organization. Itâs going to be fascinating to watch how that goes, not to mention what happens at the next press conference that Simmons attends.