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Why the Maple Leafs are moving training camp to Arizona this week

For GM John Chayka, team bonding outweighed any bad optics of taking his business to a U.S. travel destination during a trade feud.

Published Sep 24, 2026  •  Last updated 6 hours ago  •  4 minute read

Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal against the Ottawa Senators during preseason game action at Scotiabank Arena on September 23, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

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The Maple Leafs are going to the Arizona sun for a few days, but their training camp trip will likely catch some heat at home. 

A three-day team bonding exercise in the Phoenix – Scottsdale area, from Thursday to Saturday, will include those players projected to be in or just on the fringe of next Tuesday’s home opener against the Montreal Canadiens. 

New general manager John Chayka agrees the long trip is a major switch from their traditional pre-season getaway bus to Muskoka – and therein lies the bad optics. It’s quite a distance to go for a practice or two and to put considerable dollars down in a country embroiled in an escalating tariff dispute with Canada 

“I don’t think trade wars are something NHL general managers should weigh in on,” Chayka told reporters Thursday. “But what’s great about sports is that it’s unifying, no matter what political perspective or religion you might be, you come to a game and everyone’s a Leafs fan.” 

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Chayka said the desert getaway idea was embraced by Scottsdale-raised captain Auston Matthews, neighbour Matthew Knies and Chayka himself, who maintains a home in the area from his days as Coyotes’ GM. Matthews and Chayka will be hosting the players and hockey staff at their respective residences as part of the trip. 

“It’s a new year, fresh start and we wanted to do something different,” Chayka said. “Keith Pelley (MLSE’s CEO) brought it up. Muskoka’s great, everyone loves it (back to the Pat Quinn era), but it feels like it was getting a little stale.” 

Team operations director Brad Lynn was asked to come up with about four or five travel destination options and the U.S. Southwest carried the vote. 

“We looked at the pros and cons,” Chayka said. “Obviously it’s meaningful to Auston in his hometown and it’s all about getting to know each other better, spend meaningful time together. It’s a chance to show the guys where he grew up and what he means to the community there. 

“It’s also nice weather and a chance to let the guys be themselves. Whether we’re caught in cottage traffic or on a plane, it doesn’t make a big difference.” 

The Leafs will return to a day off in Toronto and one practice before facing the Canadiens on Tuesday. Chayka said the other suggestions were the Leafs going to a remote part of Wisconsin, as well as somewhere on the Eastern seaboard. 

“Jake McCabe was pushing for (Wisconsin),” Chayka laughed of the Eau Claire native. “That might be on the horizon. This just felt like the right one for this year and we’ll take it from there.” 

The Leafs made a number of cuts on Wednesday before split squad games against Ottawa, sending many players back to junior or Cincinnati of the ECHL. They separated the first group of AHL Marlies who will be joined by more cuts Thursday and start practising on their own when the Leafs are away.    

Senior executive advisor Mats Sundin, when he was captain, hosted a similar team event at his seaside compound north of Stockholm when the Leafs held camp in Sweden. This week’s travel group, including first overall pick Gavin McKenna, new goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and about seven other newcomers and coaches, have been in the same practice group since camp started, all for chemistry purposes.  

Golf and team dinners will be sandwiched around at least one practice in Arizona, while any Leaf or Coyote supporters who’ve missed hockey since the team moved to Utah in 2024 might catch Toronto players at  a couple of planned community events. 

“I’ve been back a lot, I love Arizona, the city and people,” said Chayka, though his exit was a murky one in 2020. He resigned on the eve of playoffs while he and ownership feuded about another NHL team seeking permission to talk to him about a new job. Chayka was also pursued by the league for breaking draft prospect testing rules and the team had to forfeit picks. 

“I think it has a great fan base, really passionate people who love hockey. Obviously, you have to figure out an arena situation. That’s always been the biggest challenge there, something we tried to solve a long time and didn’t. But things evolve and change and certainly with that market, you would expect they would have success. It’s all about putting the right people with the right facility at the right time and that’s tough to do.”   

 Lhornby@postmedia.com 

X: @sunhornby   

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