Rumor: Only one team checks all the boxes as the landing spot for John Chayka.

So things got pretty crazy in Arizona didn't they?

Over the weekend we witnessed the Arizona Coyotes and general manager John Chayka go through an extremely messy divorce. We still don't know exactly what went on behind closed doors but what we do know is that there is a ton of bad blood coming from the Coyotes on this one. Anonymous sources from within the National Hockey League described Chayka as a "liar and a quitter" and even in the official statement released by the Coyotes the now former general manager was accused of quitting on his team just days before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

One of the reasons the Coyotes are so mad of course is that Chayka is widely viewed as one of the most brilliant young minds in the sport of hockey. It is this very reason that also resulted in the split between the two, with another company or organization coming in and making Chayka an offer that resulted in him terminating his contract with the Coyotes. At first we had heard reports that the offer was not from a rival franchise, but there is now a strong indication that there is in fact a connection with a rival team in the National Hockey League. 

So that leaves us with one gigantic question.... which team was it that made the offer? The reality is that we do not have a lot to go on, however we have compiled some information from multiple different sources and we think we may have been able to narrow things down a little. First, Phoenix area radio host John Gambadoro stated plainly that the offer "to go back East was for a lot more money." Now while the money part of that quote is interesting, the fact that Gambadoro directly links Chayka to a team in the East narrows the field quite a bit. 

One of the teams that has been most closely linked to this story had been the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres fired their general manager roughly six weeks ago, and six weeks ago is when the unknown party reportedly approached the Coyotes for permission to talk with Chayka. That is only conjecture however, but on Saturday Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman validated those rumors and added that the New Jersey Devils were also a team being linked to this story.

From Friedman:

(There’s been a lot of speculation about the Buffalo Sabres, but I’m also hearing rumblings about New Jersey, although the Devils have hired Tom Fitzgerald. Word is Chayka will take time away before making any further comment or commitment.) 

That would make both the Devils and the Sabres the leading candidates in my estimation, however another NHL insider has added even more to this story. According to TSN insider Darren Dreger the Buffalo Sabres are "NOT" the team that made the offer to Chayka. Dreger cites his sources on this one and the fact that he emphasized the word "not" so strongly indicates to me that he is pretty confident in this source. That would seemingly only leave the Devils, which would fit due to the fact that their ownership owns multiple sports properties and are in the East. The multiple sports properties are particularly important because in order for Chayka to be allowed to breach his contract the offer had to be something above the role of a mere NHL general manager or President of Hockey Operations for a team. A role as President, or something like it, for multiple sports brands would fit the bill. 

There could of course be another, as of yet unknown, team in the mix here, but right now all signs point to the New Jersey Devils.