Toronto’s front office hire gamble makes the Connor McDavid question harder to ignore after recent comments
|
Daniel Lucente
May 3, 2026 (12:02)
|
|
Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Connor McDavid and Kris Knoblauch are already in offseason scrutiny, and the Maple Leafs just gave the story a Toronto pulse.
This is not about nostalgia alone.
Toronto working toward a Mats Sundin and John Chayka front office is a roster-building signal, not a jersey-retirement reunion.
Sundin gives the Maple Leafs something they’ve lacked: a respected internal voice tied directly to the club’s identity.
Chayka, if finalized as the hockey operations driver beside him, brings the spreadsheet edge Toronto clearly wants after a 32-36-14 season.
McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers finished 41-30-11, then walked into another offseason with pressure louder than the final buzzer.
Why Sundin changes the McDavid conversation
McDavid has already said Sundin was the captain of the Toronto team he followed as a kid.
"When I was really young, it was Mats Sundin. He was the captain of Toronto, the team that I followed since I was a kid. A fantastic player, and someone I have always looked up to."
- Connor McDavid
- Connor McDavid
He also wrote about seeing Sundin make a great play and Darcy Tucker throw a big hit, then wanting to copy it outside.
"It was just a thing that I loved [hockey] and that was a part of me. I’d see Mats Sundin make a great play or Darcy Tucker lay a big hit, and I’d just want to go out there and do it myself."
- Connor McDavid
- Connor McDavid
The tweet circulating around the Leafs’ search put the front-office angle in plain terms: if Sundin says yes, the belief is a Sundin-Chayka combination and that could tempt McDavid.
That is the part Edmonton can’t ignore.
McDavid carries a $12,500,000 cap hit, while Auston Matthews is at $13,250,000 and William Nylander sits at $11,500,000.
So this is not fantasy roster math.
It is a two-year positioning play, built around credibility, cap pressure, and the possibility that Toronto wants to look ready before McDavid ever gets near a decision.
Sundin won’t recruit McDavid with speeches.
But he can help make the Maple Leafs look less like a noisy market and more like a serious hockey operation.
Toronto didn’t just chase a former captain. The Maple Leafs chased a bridge to their past, and maybe a door to the biggest name in hockey.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
NHL makes Canadiens-Lightning Game 7 announcement after travel delay concerns
NHL makes Canadiens-Lightning Game 7 announcement after travel delay concerns