GM John Chayka explains the logic behind the Kirill Marchenko trade, discusses Matthew Knies’ reaction to the move, and outlines the plan for Miles Wood and Elvis Merzlikins.
What inspired this trade? Why make this move, and why now?
Chayka: First off, thank you to Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz. They’re good Leafs, good men. They played well and played hard for us, and we wish them the best. And Andrae as well—he did everything we asked of him just through training camp.
A big part of this, too, is the support from ownership. Honestly, yesterday was a big commitment from the club, and this was a player who wasn’t willing to go just anywhere. He wants to win. He wants to be part of a world-class organization. The support, resources, and commitment from Edward Rogers, Tony Staffieri, and Keith Pelley–I think it’s important for fans to know. That allowed us to execute a transaction like this, which was pretty complicated and took a lot of time. We appreciate Columbus being good partners to see this through.
The simplest way I can put it is that there are a lot of good players in the NHL, but very few who can impact winning and single-handedly dictate the outcomes of games. We believe Kirill is one of those players for us. You have to give up quality to get quality, and we gave up some quality people and quality players. Ultimately, my job is to always make the team as good as possible—not just collect talent, but put together a team that fits and works, where you believe there’s chemistry among the players. We felt it was the right move at this time.
What stands out most about Marchenko and his ability to impact the game?
Chayka: He’s a unique player. Obviously, there’s the combination of size and skill, and his ability to be a dual threat: make plays and score goals. He’s a right shot, which balances out some of the handedness for us and gives us different options on the power play and throughout the offensive zone, hopefully.
To get the top scorer on a team in his prime and be able to lock him up through those prime years at a number we think is effective for us—when we put that all together, we thought it was a special opportunity.
What were the contract negotiations like? Did it all come together yesterday?
Chayka: We received permission sometime in the morning. Credit to Dan Milstein; he’s a pretty direct guy. I dealt with Dan, and he knows what he wants, but he’s fair. Given where the market has gone, what Kirill has achieved, and what we think his potential is, we mapped it against our cap strategy and forecast. While it’s an expensive player, we think it’s a player who fits and whom we can build around.
You’re losing some physicality with Knies. How do you view that part of the trade?
Chayka: A big part of roster construction is trying to find the right balance of speed, skill, grit, and good character people in the room. The list goes on. We’re constantly evaluating and trying to find the right balance and mix.
Matthew’s a great player. There’s no doubt about it, and all the things I’ve said about him being a unique player in his own right are true. We were more focused on what we were acquiring. We feel Kirill also brings a big body that can protect pucks, get to the net, and score some big goals in those areas as well. We’ve done a lot of work on our entire roster and feel we have those elements throughout the lineup, but we’ll continue to evaluate it as the team plays now and adjust as we see fit.
What appealed to the team about Miles Wood as a player?
Chayka: I got a chance to watch him a lot as a young player growing up, too. When he’s at his best, it’s a straight-line game: lots of speed, grit, and a simple player. He can forecheck and penalty kill, so there are a lot of good attributes.
He’s going to go down to the Marlies. He’s already been assigned to the American League, and he’ll get a chance to earn his way back up. When he’s on and he’s healthy—which I don’t think he has been for the last few years—we think he can contribute.
Knies’ name has been out there for a while. How did he take the news?
Chayka: I apologized to him for the noise over the last several months. I don’t think it was necessarily fair to him. This was the only thing we seriously considered as a management group. These things happen. He understands. He’s a professional athlete and a smart kid.
He took the news well. It’s a good young team he’s going to. I think it’s a good fit for him. I think he’ll do well.
When did the trade conversations begin? Was this discussed earlier in the summer or did it come together at the last minute?
Chayka: Deals of this magnitude always take time. These were early discussions, but you have a lot of discussions and never know at what point one becomes serious. I’d say it was only within the last several weeks that we started to get some traction.
What is the plan for Elvis Merzlikins?
Chayka: Elvis is currently injured long term, so he’ll go on LTIR. The prognosis is four to six months. I think he’s, give or take, a month into his recovery from the procedure. We’ll continue to work with him and his staff to make sure he’s getting the right rehab, and we’re hopeful he can make a return.
Do you expect Marchenko to be available tonight?
Chayka: That’s the goal. Those things are out of our hands right now. It’s immigration and making sure we get the right paperwork done, but that’s our hope.
What kind of potential do you see for Marchenko long term?
Chayka: Well, that’s the bet. We all know what he’s done in Columbus, leading his team and being an important player. It’s no different from Columbus making a bet on what Matthew will do in a different environment. We’re doing the same. With the center group we have, some linemates we think we can match him with, and the situation we put him in here, we think there’s more upside.
With the salary cap rising, how do you balance what Marchenko’s contract costs in the first year against its value down the road?
Chayka: We always analyze that. It’s a big part of asset management, which is what the game has become with the cap. With it being flatter for a few years, that was the ultimate way to assess and analyze value. As the cap rises, I think it gives you a little more flexibility to take on some risk, but hopefully there’s some upside on that as well.
As we balanced all of it, we felt we’re big believers in consolidation. We feel like ten dimes don’t equal a dollar, kind of thing. As we build our roster, getting elite talent that can change outcomes is expensive. We’re willing to pay for that. Then you have to draft and develop, have that next wave, and make some shrewd pickups to supplement and complement . When you map out what it looks like, you have to make sure the swings you take are good ones and the players you deem part of your core are important players.
With all the changes you’ve made, do you still want to be aggressive?
Chayka: I’d say always patiently aggressive. We’ve made a lot of changes. It’ll be good to drop the puck tonight, and I wouldn’t guess we’re going to do anything before tonight. Then we’ll react as the team plays.
Other than Matthew now, we feel we’ve amassed pretty good future capital. If something becomes available that makes our team better, we think we’re still well positioned to do that.
Now that Marchenko is in the fold, what are your expectations for the Maple Leafs this season?
Chayka: They’re unchanged. Our expectations are always high for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ownership has spared no expense to put the best product on the ice, support the guys, and give us every resource to be successful. We think Kirill can be a big part of that, but as I said, we felt we had a good group going in as well.
