After another loss Tuesday night, the Edmonton Oilers have fired general manager and President, Peter Chiarelli. In a Twitter post from TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, it was reported and confirmed by TSN that the Oilers have released Chiarelli but no replacement has been officially named nor has the organization made comment on the firing.
Peter Chiarelli has been fired by the Oilers. Done deal
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) January 23, 2019
The Oilers now sit with a 23-24-3 record after 50 games, are currently three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and see three teams in front of them. Much of the problems the team has struggled with this season have been traced back to poor decisions made by management, namely Chiarelli. The lowlights of his tenure were trades that included Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle with little to show for it except an on-again, off-again No. 1 defenseman in Adam Larsson.
The firing comes as a relief to many fans but also as a move that may be too late. The damage Chiarelli has done under his watch may take time to repair and his latest move — the signing of unproven goaltender Mikko Koskinen to a three-year contract extension — was done just 24 hours before Chiarelli’s termination.
Chiarelli Release No Surprise
In Edmonton, the consensus seemed to be that Chiarelli’s release was simply a matter of “if”, but “when”. After joining the Oilers in April of 2015, he began making moves that put the Oilers into the playoffs for one season but saw them fall to the bottom-ten in the standings the next. The team has now missed in 12 of the last 13 seasons and he’s left the team with bloated contracts and little depth to compete or make moves heading into this season’s trade deadline.
