Journalist claims Chiarelli may have “screwed up” the Oilers

Do you agree?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Journalist claims Chiarelli may have “screwed up” the Oilers
KeyStone Press

The Edmonton Oilers are 2-5-1 through 8 games and have a league-worst 15 goals through that stretch - with a healthy Connor McDavid.

The Arizona Coyotes have lost 9 straight games to start the season and have a better offense than Edmonton. 

So what's going on? 

McDavid has been on the ice for 10 of the team's 15 goals, with a point on 9 of them. Behind him, offense is nonexistent. Sure, Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula were out for a number of those games, but if your offense dries up that quickly, there's a clear issue with the team's secondary scoring.

Enter Peter Chiarelli

The general manager replaced players like Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle with Adam Larsson, Ryan Strome, and Milan Lucic in free agency. While these players are all good and important in their own right - Dave Lozo of Vice Sports makes it easy to see where the offensive depth was lost.

The issue lies here, as Lozo points out - Chiarelli seems to be following the Pittsburgh Penguins model - surround his version of Sidney Crosby with cheap wingers and make them look way better than they are on their own. John Tavares on the New York Islanders has had a similar treatment with his linemate offerings and does not have the playoff success his counterpart in Pittsburgh has had. 

Why? Because the Isles lack depth behind their star center. The same could be said in Edmonton. As long as that depth is lacking on Chiarelli's team, they will struggle to become a perennial contender like Crosby's Penguins.

What do you think? Is this roster in good shape or not?

Source: Vice Sports