Oilers' Chiarelli to get fired this week?!

A major move to come prior to the trade deadline - and it does not involve players!

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Published 5 years ago
Oilers' Chiarelli to get fired this week?!
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The Edmonton Oilers are doing everything they can to get back on track and clinch a playoff spot before it's too late, but it seems like the losses and failed trade attempts have taken a toll on general manager Peter Chiarelli

The Oilers hold the fourth position in the Pacific Division with a 22-21-3 record, which just leaves them out of a Wild Card spot right under the Minnesota Wild with 47 points, and Chiarelli is surely trying his best to make the ideal changes to guide his team to a playoff spot and on the road to a long Cup run.

However, according to Jonathan Willis of The Athletic, the Oilers should be making a decision on Chiarelli's future in the coming week as Edmonton plays its last game before a 10-day break on January 22. Willis believes the Oilers should decide if Chiarelli is the man for the team moving forward as "the break is a chance to evaluate everything, as well as set trade deadline strategy."

"If Chiarelli is not going to be the Oilers general manager past this summer, he shouldn’t be the one heading up hockey operations through this period," he explains in his article. 

Willis' colleague, TSN's Pierre LeBrun, recently explained that Montreal Canadiens' Marc Bergevin was in a similar spot in the one Chiarelli finds himself, and even faced harsh criticism when he traded Alex Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes in return for Max Domi, who has been a good player on the Habs' roster this season. LeBrun wondered if fans will trust Chiareilli again, like Montreal was eventually able to do with Bergevin. 

To come to that position, Chiarelli will have to face management, if they listen to Willis: 

"Additionally, making a decision prior to the deadline would give the Oilers time to form a search committee, do research and turn a long list of plausible GM candidates into a short list of interviewees. The organization has never engaged in a thorough public search for a GM and that is perhaps reflected in its league-worst record since Kevin Lowe vacated the office.
If the Oilers are going to keep Chiarelli in his post, the timing is even more important. A GM with security past the summer is more likely to engage in the long-term planning the position demands. He is less likely to engage in short-term panic moves aimed at saving his job.
Regardless of what the decision is, the Oilers are better off making it this week than they are kicking the can to the end of the year."

Chiarelli has tried his best to make significant changes in Edmonton, especially when he brought star head coach Ken Hitchcock on board. One thing seems now clearer and clearer: if the Oilers do not make it to the postseason, it seems like a management change is inevitable.

Or, it could come sooner than expected... 

Source: The Athletic