Hayley Wickenheiser Breaks Silence After Maple Leafs Firing

That list now includes former assistant general manager Hayley Wickenheiser, who was once considered a candidate to take over the GM role before Chayka landed the job.

Wickenheiser published a post on Instagram discussing his exit from the Maple Leafs after spending eight seasons with the organization.

“For the past eight seasons, it has been an incredible honor to work for the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Wickenheiser wrote. “Over the last few days, John Chayka and I had several discussions about my role moving forward. During those conversations, my expectation was that I would be in a position to continue to have a significant impact within the organization. However, it became clear that his leadership group envisioned a different path.

“Since joining the club in 2018, I have been immensely proud of the work our player development team has accomplished. I want to sincerely thank the incredibly talented individuals, coaches, management, and players whom I have been fortunate enough to work alongside over the last eight years. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity, wish the team nothing but the best moving forward, and look forward to the next chapter.”

Wickenheiser joined Toronto in 2018 as assistant director of player development, and later became senior director of player development in 2021 and assistant general manager in 2022.

The Maple Leafs also parted ways with fellow assistant general manager Darryl Metcalf, director of amateur scouting Mark Leach and senior adviser for player personnel Dave Morrison.