John Chayka Named Coyotes GM: Latest Contract Details, Reaction

The Arizona Coyotes haven't qualified for the NHL playoffs since the 2011-12 campaign, and they're reportedly making an unconventional move to try to snap a four-year postseason drought.

The Coyotes announced Thursday that 26-year-old John Chayka is the team's new general manager.

ESPN The Magazine's Craig Custance first reported the news Wednesday. Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press confirmed the news.

Chayka is the NHL's youngest general manager.

"The end goal is very clear: to create a winning environment and a destination players want to play in," Chayka said in his introductory press conference. "We are excited about the challenge ahead and focused on taking our team to the next level.

"This is about creating a model that is player-centric," Chayka continued. "At end of the day, [the] buck stops [with] me on player personnel decisions."

The Coyotes hired Chayka as their assistant general manager in May 2015, but he lasted less than a year in that role after the front office fired former general manager Don Maloney in April.

Chayka has a strong background in analytics, and the team's release regarding his appointment to assistant GM a year ago noted he was the co-founder and director of hockey operations at Stathletes Inc.

Season	Record	Playoff Finish
2010-11	43-26-13	Lost in conference quarterfinals
2011-12	42-27-13	Lost in conference finals
2012-13	21-18-9	-----
2013-14	37-30-15	-----
2014-15	24-50-8	-----
2015-16	35-39-8	-----

Arizona's move represents the continuation of a trend that has seen younger, more analytically geared minds joining front offices across the league.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired then-28-year-old Kyle Dubas to be the team's assistant general manager in July 2014, while the Edmonton Oilers brought analytics guru Tyler Dellow aboard around the same time. The New Jersey Devils also made a forward-thinking move when the team's ownership group appointed Sunny Mehta to be the director of the team's new analytics department in 2015.

"John is a strategist unlike almost anyone I've ever met," Stathletes co-founder Neil Lane told Custance. "He's about the big picture but at the same time focused on the present...his philosophy is to arm yourself with the highest level of skill and the most information possible to make the best decision possible. You do that over and over again."

However, Chayka won't be alone in making front office decisions.

According to Custance, Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett is expected to have "an expanded role in roster decisions" as a result of the organizational shake-up.

And after Arizona posted an 11-game improvement in the win column from 2014-15 to 2015-16, the franchise appears headed in the right direction as it seeks to embrace a more aggressive approach with Chayka leading the charge.