The Arizona Coyotes have extended President/General Manager John Chayka to a long-term extension. The financials and numbers of years on the deal were not announced.
Per team source, the Coyotes have reached an agreement on a long-term extension for president of hockey operations/GM John Chayka.
— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) November 11, 2019
Chayka To Stay President Of Coyotes
Chayka took over as the President of the Coyotes in 2016. At the time of his deal in 2016, he was the youngest GM in the NHL. During his time with the Coyotes, the team has gone 98-118-30 and have failed to make the playoffs over the past seven seasons.
Chayka has done a lot over the past few years to try and get to Coyotes back into the playoffs. He’s made moves not only to keep key pieces in Arizona long-term but to go out and find some more help. He signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an eight-year, $8.25 million deal in July 2018. Larsson has proved to be a key part of the Coyotes as well as being named their captain in 2018. He has also handed out major extensions to Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun, Christian Dvorak, and Nick Schmaltz.
External Moves
One of the biggest needs Chayka has filled is the Yotes need for a goaltender. In 2018 he brought in Antti Raanta to become their starter. However, Raanta has dealt with multiple injuries and Darcy Kuemper has gotten most of the starts lately for the Coyotes. Kuemper has been another one of the guys that Chayka brought in.
Arizona brought in Alex Galchenyuk in 2018 but recently flipped him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Phil Kessel. Kessel has put up three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 17 games so far with Arizona.
Things are looking up for the Coyotes as they are coming off their first winning season since the 2013-14 season. If the Coyotes continue on this pace they could be looking for their first playoff appearance since the 2011-12 season very soon.
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