The Man In The High Castle?

In case you missed it, the Oilers fired Peter Chiarelli last night during (yes, DURING) the game between the Oilers and the Red Wings. The Oilers lost 3-2 after playing approximately 53 minutes of substandard hockey followed by 7 minutes of mediocre hockey. They are currently 3 points out of a wildcard spot (and 6 points out of the basement), and nothing is going well.

When Todd McLellan was fired earlier this season, the Oilers went on a bit of a heater which has since cooled. Since Christmas, the team is 5-9 and is just not good. Sure, there are some bright spots (Milan Lucic has scored more than 2 goals in 2019), but there is legitimately very little to celebrate.

It’s no secret that the Oilers roster is worse now than it was when Chiarelli took over. Even ignoring some of the larger deals, there’s not been a lot to work with and adding a player like Brandon Manning is not the solution to the problem. Instead, interim GM Keith Gretzky is tasked with cleaning up some of the mess left behind.

Peter Chiarelli held the title of General Manager of the Edmonton #Oilers from Apr 24, 2015 – Jan 22, 2019 (3 years, 8 months, 29 days).

In that time Chiarelli;
– signed 89 contracts (total value of $484,870,250)
– drafted 27 players
– made 38 trades. https://t.co/ttyTPyz6aO pic.twitter.com/UGtnruY1CS

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) January 23, 2019

After Sunday’s loss to Carolina, the chatter about Chiarelli’s future intensified, and after last night’s game TSN’s Ryan Rishaug tweeted this:

It is my belief a change is imminent at the GM position in Edmonton. It’s no longer a matter of it, but when Peter Chiarelli’s is let go. I’d expect news shortly.

— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) January 23, 2019

Less than 2 hours later, the announcement was made and the deal was done.

There are a lot of one for one jokes to be made but instead we’re left with a roster that really can’t compete in today’s NHL, despite having the best player in a generation on the top line.

Peter Chiarelli took an organization missing only a few key pieces and turned it into the laughingstock of the league. To be gifted the best player in a generation and then screw up the first 4 years of his career is inexcusable. To continually justify poor roster management as “the price you have to pay” is laughable at best. To systematically make the team worse while telling everyone you’re doing your best is a fire-able offence. It’s just too bad it took so long.

And in case you were wondering how things could have gone….

From https://www.instagram.com/tsn_official/