Bryan Hayes raises doubts about Leafs’ future after Chayka decision: Leafs Morning Take

Depending on how you look at it, this is a day Toronto Maple Leafs fans have been dreading. It’s either going to end in jubilation, or even more frustration.

The NHL Draft Lottery goes just after 7 PM ET (we’ll have a live stream), and believe it or not, despite finishing with the fifth-worst record, there’s only a 41.9% chance the Leafs actually keep their pick under the current system.

That’s where the conversation kicked off on a busy Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take, as we broke down the odds—courtesy of bet365. The line: +120 for the Leafs to land a top-5 pick, and -140 for them to miss out.

Meantime, we spent a good chunk of the show dissecting the Chayka–Sundin introductory press conference. Memo to MLSE: keep Keith Pelley away from a microphone for the foreseeable future. Overall, we thought both Pelley and Chayka came off a bit nervous. Mats Sundin, meanwhile, was calm, cool, and collected. It’ll be fascinating to see how he performs in a management role. That said, we were hoping for a clear explanation from Pelley on what led him to hire Chayka. Unfortunately, he danced around the question and never really gave a direct answer. From the outset, it felt like the mandate was to avoid pouring gasoline on the fire—they weren’t going to address the past. More than anything, it came across like they were just trying to weather the storm. Steve Simmons—who will join us on Wednesday’s show—had other plans.Rosie also weighed in on the line of questioning and some of the responses from the key decision-makers.

After that, Bryan Hayes stopped by to break down the press conference, offering a candid and, at times, skeptical perspective. He noted that both Keith Pelley and John Chayka appeared noticeably nervous, while Mats Sundin stood out for his calm and composed presence. Hayes admitted he was surprised it ultimately came to this front office pairing and questioned the overall direction, especially given the public skepticism surrounding the hire. He also weighed in on the Leafs’ spending perception, pushed back on comparisons to Carolina, and shared his thoughts on Sundin’s role, what Chayka’s next steps could look like, Craig Berube’s future, and his gut feeling heading into the draft lottery.

You won’t want to miss Wednesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take. As mentioned, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons will join us as we recap the draft lottery and continue breaking down the key moments from the introductory press conference.