Coyotes General Manager John Chayka, who signed a contract extension last November, is no longer leading negotiations to re-sign forward Taylor Hall, according to an NHL source with direct knowledge of the situation.
The source confirmed reports that Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, his son Alex Jr., and team president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez had a dinner meeting last week with Hall, a pending unrestricted free agent.
It’s unclear if Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, was present.
What is clear, the source said, is that Chayka was not invited. In fact, Chayka didn’t become aware of the meeting until at least a day later, the source said.