The Edmonton Oilers have finally pulled the trigger, firing GM and President of Hockey Operations Peter Chiarelli according to multiple reports including John Shannon of Sportsnet. Keith Gretzky will serve as interim GM as the team begins a search immediately for Chiarelli’s replacement.
It’s hard to find a more disappointing team than the Oilers the last few seasons, and Chiarelli is finally paying the price for that failure. Despite having arguably the best player in the world doing incredible things on a nightly basis, Edmonton now sits 23rd in the NHL and just six points from the bottom of the league. They dropped below .500 yesterday with a devastating loss to the Detroit Red Wings, though the move to fire Chiarelli was apparently made before the game.
That decision also comes just days after the Oilers puzzled the hockey world with a three-year extension for Mikko Koskinen, despite the goaltender having just 31 games of NHL experience. Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that the extension was negotiated by Chiarelli personally, a deal that was widely derided for being too expensive and premature. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that the negotiations started in early December, with it being an “organizational plan” to extend the goaltender. CEO Bob Nicholson refuted the idea that Chiarelli completed the extension by himself, and expressed confidence in the goaltender going forward. Koskinen was in net last night against the Red Wings, allowing three goals on 27 shots.
Countless other moves from Chiarelli have been questioned, most notably the trades of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle that have not worked out well for the team. Hall went on to win a Hart Trophy with the New Jersey Devils, while the return for Eberle has dwindled into almost nothing with the team’s recent placement of Ryan Spooner on waivers. The Oilers have struggled to find offensive replacement for the talented wingers, and were rumored to be ready to make another deal to address that issue before the deadline.
Perhaps then this move comes as a precautionary measure by the upper management of the Oilers, who have taken the power away from a GM that was fighting to keep his job. Edmonton seemed to be in a playoffs-or-bust mode ever since the mid-season hiring of legendary head coach Ken Hitchcock, another move that has seemingly failed to breathe life into the roster.
Where the team turns now will be extremely interesting, as it’s not all rain clouds when looking towards the Oilers future. Connor McDavid is still just 22 years old and on pace to be one of the all-time scoring greats, while other talented prospects remain in the system. Though Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto haven’t been able to establish themselves as full-time NHL players, they still have more than enough time to grow into their roles. Evan Bouchard too looks like a solid pick for the team and is expected to be back in the NHL next season.
The biggest question now will be how the team deals with the rest of the 2018-19 season. They are obviously struggling to keep up with the rest of the playoff pack in the Western Conference, and may need to try and reset the roster somewhat over the next few months. The team is pushed right up against the cap and already has almost $73MM committed to next season. Getting out from under some of their big-money deals might be job number one for the next GM, in order to rebuild the roster with a group that can complement McDavid’s speed and skill.
Early candidates for the job have already been speculated on, including Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) listing Kelly McCrimmon (Vegas Golden Knights AGM), Mark Hunter (London Knights GM), Ken Holland (Red Wings GM) and several others as names to consider.
I think Spooner being placed on waivers was the final straw.
As a Bruins fan I approve of this action
I dont get why he had a job after trading hall for a subpar defenceman
Only 2 seasons too late….
Shocker!
Oh, I mean it’s about time…
Good thing they let him spend $13.5 million and tie up a roster spot on a scrub goalie on his out the door.
now hire Mark Hunter as GM and start the rebuild!!
He may have done enough damage to keep Edmonton in the crapper for the next 5 years. But, to happily add to the bonfire here: GOOD RIDDANCE!
That was Hitch’s call
……Spooner
Bowman is worse than this guy, he to should be fired ASAP
Lol, gee, couldn’t see that coming. Just be happy he only saddled the team with only ONE bad contract. Bruins got screwed by his contracts to Rask, Krechi and others.
As long as he doesn’t return to us in some position.
Yeah totally saddled with a top 10 goalie and an above average 2nd line center. Compared to the Backes deal that the current braintrust put together those look like phenomenal deals.
Luckily baby bobby isn’t running the front office in Boston. Not a giant Rask fan, his contract is overpriced and too long, but Krejci is clearly a top center in the league playing 2nd line and fans realize that he makes the team better WHEN he is healthy and therefore can play effectively. Kind of like THIS SEASON. Get off the bath salts.
puckhead Only 2 seasons?…. LoL
Why do you have 4 posts in a row and why do you capitalize the wrong words when trying to make a point? Also your team-word play is never funny
Marc Wright I’m not sure they want a rebuild with draisaitl and McDavid currently in their primes. some tinkering may be necessary but there are decent foundations on the team.
Don’t know if they got screwed with either one. Krejci is still a second line center, yes a little expensive at 7.25, but what would be fair price for production 5.5 or 6 probably? He’s not bogging down the cap with a complete lack of production like Backes the last two years. And I like Backes but 6 mil was egregious. That was a Sweeney move..
I don’t know why the oilers hired him anyway!
Pricewasright, problem with trying to win now is that they are up against the cap and have Lucic at 6 million.per and Russell at 4 million per and now Koskinen at 5.2 cap hit next year. The new GM will have to be a magician to unload those contracts to sign new players. Keep Mcd and trade the rest
In the Cap world in the NHL a manager really has to have great money guys around him to be able to navigate the money stream on a continuous basis. Chiareli has put Edmonton in a tight spot financially.