Jonito

Re: John Chayka - this isn't talked about enough. 2 sides to every story. John Chayka took the high road (like a professional) while Meruelo ran his name through the mud after he left the team. From what I've read, Meruelo refused to grant Devils ownership permission to talk to Chayka about an elevated role with their club. Chayka talked Meruelo into giving him permission and was ultimately offered an opportunity (ie. President), and Meruelo was beyond pissed. He claims Chayka told him he was merely having a friendly cup of coffee and was blindsided by the outcome. I mean... regardless of how Chayka truly pitched this, you've gotta be some kind of stupid to miss the plot here and feel "blindsided". On one hand, Chayka was under contract - a fresh contract, at that. He was a promising young leader and Meruelo wanted to keep him. On the other hand, the Coyotes were objectively a stepping stone organization and Meruelo was holding a young man back from a promising and arguably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to elevate his career. I believe Meruelo had every right to be upset/disappointed, but was wrong for trying to hold John Chayka back from a chance like this. Disputes happen in business. If you're mad, you tell Chayka to fuck off, you let him go, you keep it cordial in the media and you move on. Instead, he opted for a power play and held Chayka hostage to deliberately cost him the opportunity, which Chayka rejected, and quit. Ultimately, it cost Meruelo his GM + bad publicity, and it cost Chayka his opportunity + bad publicity as well. It doesn't bode well for Meruelo that just a few years later, the team would be playing in Mullett Arena and ultimately forced to sell the team and relocate to Utah. Think about it - where would John Chayka have been in 3 years had he stayed in Arizona? He'd be running a team out of a janitor's closet in a college arena. Could have been president of the Devils. It's a joke, and it's complete bullshit that this context gets missed when people remember John Chayka's tenure in Arizona. I'd likely have done all the same things John Chayka did. Can't say the same for Alex Meruelo.