The Edmonton Oilers organization made a great deal of changes over the course of their offseason, changes that included a major shift in the front office as well as behind the bench of the organization.
Following the decision to fire former Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli the Oilers move forward with their plans to hire general manager Ken Holland, most famous for his time at the helm of the Detroit Red Wings organization, in the hopes that the veteran GM could help steer the ship in the right direction. That move was quickly followed by a decision from Ken Holland to usher current Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock out the door, only to then be replaced by veteran head coach Dave Tippett. The moves represent a hugely significant change to the structure of the Oilers organization but there are many who do not believe that they will bring about any meaningful change to what many now consider to be the worst run organization in the entire league.
It is not just fans and critics of the Oilers who have expressed their doubts however, no those doubts are coming from within the Oilers locker room itself as well. Many felt that the fresh start would be welcomed by players like Milan Lucic or Jesse Puljujarvi who had struggled under the previous management structure and although that may still prove to be the case for Milan Lucic, it does not sound like it will be the case at all for Puljujarvi.
There were rumblings last season that Puljujarvi had enough of the treatment he was receiving at the hands of the Oilers organization and as a result had moved forward with a trade demand. Any hopes that a new general manager and a new head coach to work under could have smoothed out that rocky relationship were quickly squashed over the week end when Puljujarvi's agent once again made comments in the media.
Speaking with a Finnish media outlet Puljujarvi's agent, Markus Lehto, made it crystal clear that he does not feel the Oilers are a good fit for his client, regardless of who is calling the shots.
"Although the Oilers have a new well-respected GM and a new coach the team is still pretty much the same," said Lehto. "Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it".
Needless to say this sentiment coming on behalf of a player who has done very little to prove himself at the NHL level will not sit well with fans in Edmonton, but it is hard to blame Puljujarvi when you see how much talented has been wasted by that organization in recent years.
