Oiler fans have a reason to be excited with new President of Hockey Operations AND General Manager Peter Chiarelli being sworn into office.
Chiarelli is a seasoned General Manager and he will be responsible for turning this wreckage into art. He’s already built a Stanley Cup winning team and he brings a lot of credibility to a franchise that had become the laughing stock of the NHL for the past nine seasons.
A lot of credit should be given to Bob Nicholson, who upon being handed the keys to the franchise from Owner Daryl Katz, decided to build a winner all while keeping his precedents somewhat happy.
Kevin Lowe is still in charge of some hockey ops, albeit in a less demanding fashion and with a presumed focus more toward the business side of the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) while Craig MacTavish will discuss his future role with the club.
There’s no doubt that each decision will come under the microscope, and the Oiler’s media wasted no time looking at Chiarelli’s handling of Tyler Seguin. Either way, the Oil Country faithful will have more reasons to be excited for what should be an intriguing and new feed filled summer.
DEALING YOUNG PLAYERS
Ryan Rishaug mentioned that the Oiler’s have a ton of good young players that could possibly be on the move now, and Chiarelli answered by mentioning he was involved in trading many young players. How did he do in the past?
In Chiarelli’s first season as the Assistant General Manager of the Ottawa Senators, the Sens sent leading scorer Marian Hossa along with journeyman defenseman and former Oiler Greg de Vries to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Dany Heatley. Heatley may not be a factor in the NHL anymore, but after being acquired, he immediately clicked on a line with Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. He would also lead the league in goals that year. That’s a win.
The following off-season as the GM of the Boston Bruins, Chiarelli dealt the team’s starting goaltender Andrew Raycroft just two seasons removed from winning the Calder Trophy. The guy he got back, Tuukka Rask, is still in the crease in Boston and will be for many years to come. Chalk up another win.
In a more minor deal, Chiarelli dealt Kris Versteeg to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Bochenski. Bochenski never materialized, and Versteeg became a 20-goal scorer who won a cup with the Blackhawks. There’s the first loss.
On July 23, 2007, Chiarelli dealt another young goaltender in Hannu Toivanen to the St.Louis Blues in exchange for Carl Soderberg. Toivanen fizzled out of the NHL and Soderberg, while a late bloomer, finally became a legitimate NHL player as a late-bloomer over the past two seasons. Win. (Keep this in mind…)
On June 24, 2008, Chiarelli pulled off another sneaky move, trading current Oiler Matt Hendricks to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Norris Trophy candidate Johnny Boychuk. We love Hendricks, but we know that is also a win for sneaky Pete! (Good nickname???)
One of the big headline stealers is the deal that took place to send Phil Kessel, coming off a 30-goal season, to the Toronto Maple Leafs for picks that became Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton and Jared Knight. If you asked any GM which side of the deal he would rather have, 99 per cent would likely say Seguin, Hamilton and Knight trump Kessel. Win.
And finally we have the most recent deal that sent Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars along with Rich Peverley and Ryan Button in exchange for Loui Eriksson, Matt Fraser, Reilly Smith and Joe Morrow. Loss but not by that bad of a margin. But a loss is still a loss.
THE FIRST YEAR
In Chairelli’s first season with the Boston Bruins, he wasted no time putting his stamp on the group. The team that would hoist the cup four seasons later got their start in Chiarelli’s first off-season.
Chiarelli was looking at a roster that looked like this before he took over:
PJ Axelsson-Patrice Bergeron-Brad Boyes
Marco Sturm-Travis Green-Glen Murray
Brad Isbister-Marty Reasoner-Wayne Primeau
Shawn McEachern-Dan LaCouture-Tom Fitzgerald
Alexei Zhamnov-Josh Langfeld-Mariusz Czerkawski
Brian Leetch-Brad Stuart
Jiri Slegr-David Tanabe
Nick Boynton-Milan Jurcina
Hal Gill-Andrew Alberts
Mark Stuart-Jiri Slegr
Andrew Raycroft
Tim Thomas
Hannu Toivanen
Chiarelli began by trading starting goaltender Andrew Raycroft for prospect Tuukka Rask, therefore handing the reins over to future Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas.
On the same day he drafted Phil Kessel at 5th overall, and also drafted Milan Lucic (50th) and Brad Marchand (71st). Each player would be either a great part, or a bridge part to the cup winning team.
Chiarelli let veteran defensemen Brian Leetch, Hal Gill, David Tanabe and Jiri Slegr leave the organization. Brad Isbister, Travis Green, Shawn McEachern, Marty Reasoner and Dan LaCouture also were able to walk while Alexei Zhamnov and Tom Fitzgerald retired.
Chiarelli began shaping his club by signing Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara to long term deals. Chara was a player Chiarelli knew from his time with the Ottawa Senators, and he locked him up before he was perennial Norris Trophy contender.
Other signings included G Brian Finley, D Wade Brookbank, D Nathan Dempsey, D Jason York, RW Jeff Hoggan, RW Nate DiCasmirro and C Dennis Packard.
The Bruins improved slightly but not significantly, and would make the playoffs the following season after two off-season’s under Peter Chiarelli.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT THIS YEAR?
Bad news for Niki Nikitin and Derek Roy, but under the new leadership I truly believe these guys will not be Edmonton Oilers this upcoming season.
Chiarelli will likely move buyout Nikitin in order to clear up some cap space to improve the blueline.
Chiarelli has shown a history of acquiring players he was comfortable with in his previous roles. He moved Shean Donovan to acquire Peter Schaefer whom he knew from his days in Ottawa, and don’t forget Zdeno Chara being the big ticket.
I mentioned Carl Soderberg earlier in the article, and I believe that Soderberg will be a big target for the new Oiler’s GM. Soderberg can play centre and the wing and his two-way abilities have been applauded throughout Oilers Nation. He replaces Derek Roy likely.
Players that were favourites of Craig MacTavish now have something to worry about. Keith Aulie, Luke Gazdic, Anton Lander, Tyler Pitlick and even to a lesser extent Teddy Purcell could see themselves on the outside looking in while Andrew Ference and Matt Fraser (both players who Chiarelli acquired into Boston) may have a new lease on life.
If Chiarelli is interested in bringing in more players from his defunct Bruins roster, the names Adam McQuiad, Gregory Campbell, Dan Paille, Matt Bartkowski and even Dougie Hamilton could be targets.
If Chiarelli is able to steal Dougie Hamilton, you would have to think that Nail Yakupov or Leon Draisaitl is part of the package going the other way, and i’m not sure if Chiarelli is going to be willing to make that kind of splash immediately.
The name that is the most intriguing to me personally is Matt Bartkowski. Bartkowski is a bit of a late-bloomer playing in his 2nd full-time NHL season as a 26-year-old and he was more of a bottom pairing guy. Bartkowski however could be had at a smaller price tag and could be another serving from the Johnny Boychuk plate.
CONCLUSIONS
This a great day for Edmonton Oiler fans. The organization finally realized that bringing in a credible and seasoned hockey mind is better than throwing an inexperienced former Oiler to the wolves.
Chiarelli will likely make a decent splash, but I believe it will involve him either acquiring a second-tier defenseman in the mould of Kyle Quincey from the Detroit Red Wings or Ryan Ellis out of the Nashville Predators, and possibly looking into Jonathan Bernier as a starting goalie with Antti Niemi being a backup plan.
Either way, once again there is nothing but good arrows from first glance and the betting odds are higher that Chiarelli will improve the club.
Happy Pete Chiarelli day everyone.
Seriously, is Sneaky Pete a good nickname????
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
