The Outsider

A recurrent theme among Oiler fans in the last decade has been, “Enough of the old boys’ club! We need new blood, fresh perspective, and new ideas. No more cronyism – let’s get someone in here who can make the changes this organization needs, top to bottom.”

Whether it was the constant futility on the ice or the deafening cry for change from the stands that convinced him, Daryl Katz finally committed to meaningful change. In came Bob Nicholson and his forensic audit, which led to the decision to search for a new helmsman for the good ship Oiler.

The ultimate choice? We got what we wanted. A fresh voice, a new face.

Peter Chiarelli. The Outsider.

The Outsider’s Mandate

Fans may disagree with some of his moves, strongly disagree even, but Peter Chiarelli was hired to balance and realign a fundamentally flawed team. Not only did the Oilers lack skill throughout their wilderness wandering years, but their roster boasted all of the coordination and vision one might expect of a Picasso-Frankenstein hybrid. It was monstrous, grotesque, inefficient, and wrong-headed – a top heavy mix of excellent forwards, horrific defencemen, and overwhelmingly inadequate goaltenders.

But for whatever reason, for a whole decade, management failed to change that. The old mentality, the old “Oiler way,” wasn’t going to work, but they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) see that.

As an outsider, Peter Chiarelli came to Edmonton with a fresh perspective on why the rebuild was spinning in place. His hiring made good sense; away from all the influencing factors that haunted the old regime, he came with good pedigree and a winning reputation. He said he had a plan and that any progress would likely involve big changes, but no one knew just what ideas were percolating behind that Harvard-approved forehead.

It took a year, but now we know.

A Vision for the Future

We simply need to look at additions and subtractions to the lineup throughout Chiarelli’s tenure here to see what he is working towards.

Notable Additions (YMMV):

1. Talbot
2. Larsson
3. Russell
4. Gryba
5. Lucic
6. Kassian
7. Maroon
8. Letestu
9. Griffin Reinhart

Notable Subtractions (YMMV):

1. Hall
2. Yakupov
3. Schultz
4. Scrivens
5. Fasth
6. Marincin
7. Gordon

Much has been made about his commitment to size, and deservedly so; there’s an obvious player type that Chiarelli covets. But the Oilers are also more skilled throughout the lineup and, perhaps most importantly, finally have a roster approaching true balance.

Balance.

Capitalize on the roster’s surpluses to address its deficiencies. Get this team ready to follow Connor McDavid. Make it more structurally resilient to the dynamic demands of the NHL regular season. Increase its depth at key positions. Build a team that’s more than just a one-trick-pony.

This was Peter Chiarelli’s mandate, and I’d argue that, one year in, he’s already on the cusp of doing just that. I’d guess he’s not quite done yet, and is still a defenceman and a center away from the right mix, but his vision for this team is what we’ve seen unfolding in front of us these past 5 games.

The Bottom Line

I sympathize with Oiler’s fans who think Chiarelli has done a poor job at asset management – he has. He has not gotten full value in most of the significant moves he has made.

To a certain degree though, I don’t think it matters all that much.

Yes, it hurts to lose Hall in a straight up deal for a (as of yet) lesser talent in Adam Larsson. Yes, it hurts to lose Yakupov for magic beans and future maybes (though Yak did almost as much to sewer his value as is possible for an NHL hockey player).

I get that.

But a lot of this needed to be done. The roster is on its way to balance, most of the glaring weaknesses have been addressed, and the right players for the right systems have been acquired.

The team is better. And from this Oilers fan, that earns Chiarelli an enthusiastic endorsement.

The Outsider has come in, made unpopular, eyebrow-raising moves, but has also shown that he has a vision for this team that the old regime (and many of us fans, myself included) woefully lacked. I never thought he’d do what he’s done, but one result stands out convincingly to me thus far in this young season.

4 wins. 1 loss.

So far, so good.