Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty via Agence France-Presse
John Chayka was the general manager of the Coyotes in Arizona for 2016.
The director-general of the Coyotes of Arizona, John Chayka, has resigned, a week before the start of the series of qualification for the NHL.
The Coyotes, who will face the Predators in Nashville, have announced that the former NHL player and current assistant general manager, Steve Sullivan, would assume the role of interim director-general.
“The team is disappointed by his actions, while the Coyotes are preparing to participate in the series for the first time since 2012, said the formation of the Arizona by way of press release. Chayka has chosen to resign, despite a team strong and competitive, a dedicated staff and the best NHL fans. “
Chayka has made a name among the best general managers in the NHL since he got to this position, in 2016. He had recently signed a contract extension until 2024.
He helped the Coyotes to move out of the shallows of the ranking by attracting players such as Taylor Hall, Phil Kessel, Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper, while capturing good hopes.
The relationship of Chayka with the new owner, Alex Meruelo, has begun to deteriorate when he asked for permission to pursue another job opportunity that is not related to the NHL.
The media, The Arizona Republic reported that Chayka had not been invited to a recent dinner with Meruelo and the new president, Xavier Gutierrez, to talk with Taylor Hall to a contract extension.
The news of the departure of Chayka occurs on the scheduled day by the Coyotes to take the leadership of the host city of Edmonton.
“The last four years have been some of the best years of my life, said Chayka, in a news release. In Arizona, I became a husband and a father, while working as hard as possible to allow the Coyotes to become aspiring champions. I like our players, our coaches, our staff and our supporters, and I would very much like to be able to be with the team in Edmonton. Unfortunately, the relationship between me and the new administration has made it so that it was impossible for me to continue. “
“This is all I’ll say about that for now. A better explanation, more detailed, may need to be necessary, however, in the near future. “
