I’ll just keep my thoughts on the Chiarelli avail short and sweet.
I was wrong with my previous post regarding what might happen today. That sucks but it happens. I suppose I should know better.
As for what Chiarelli said or didn’t say in his year-end avail, he did what any GM would do in the circumstance he was in. He said a lot without saying anything. Put his lawyer’s training right into practice.
He was unhappy with the players. Fair enough. I don’t necessarily feel like he was throwing them under the bus and saying the bad year was all their fault because he did claim fault for the wings and not getting cover for Sekera as well as saying in so many words that the coaching staff was less than stellar.
Death by 1000 cuts, to me, means that everyone was culpable for the results of the year but if you’re one of those that want to find a way to blame Chiarelli for injuries, deaths in the family, bad PDO or SH%, I suppose that’s on you.
He said that the players told him there wasn’t enough commitment on the ice and that was something that perked my ears a bit.
Why did the players feel the need to cheat on the ice and who was keeping them accountable?
That also dovetails with what McLellan said in his year-end presser when he was talking about how the players might want the coaches to lean on them a bit more. And all of that reminds me of a Connor McDavid story in Bob McKenzie’s book “Hockey Confidential”. Page 126 to be exact.
In minor atom, during a game on the bench, he (McDavid) heard two teammates talking about playing a video game. He Told his dad afterwards, “If other kids aren’t on board, we have to do something about it.”
Connor’s a competitive guy and no doubt his opinion is valued with regards to how this hockey club is constructed going forward. Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky will see to that. One thing that’s for sure, you won’t ever hear a quote like, “It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” from him…
All of that being said, I’m not 100% for sure that Chiarelli, McLellan, the assistant coaches, or even some of the more notable players on the Oilers are safe going into this summer.
Keep an eye on the Oscar Klefbom/Andrej Sekera news is my advice.
OILERS NEWS
Cult of Hockey – At The Cult of Hockey: Edmonton Oilers G.M. Peter Chiarelli identifies a need, on defence. Who might his targets be? – There are a number of sources from which Chiarelli may draw. Having alluded to the fact that there is a pool of players he has already identified, let’s make some educated guesses on who they may be…
Cult of Hockey – No announcements just yet, but Peter Chiarelli suggests changes in Oilers’ coaching staff are imminent – Chiarelli made no opening statement but jumped directly to questions, which came in a random order though we have re-organized below for the sake of logical continuity.
Cult of Hockey – Twitter reacts to Peter Chiarelli’s press conference: “How is he still GM?” – Here’s the reaction of Oilers fans, which wasn’t good, not even close to good…
Copper and Blue – On Chiarelli’s End Of Season Media Availability – Are you impressed? I sure as hell am not. The lights will be bright and hot this offseason as Chiarelli must improve this team by a solid 20 points next year. Piece of cake, yeah?
Oilersnation – Peter Chiarelli talks disappointing 2017-18 season – After finding out that Chiarelli was going to speak today, all I could think about was how this was probably going to be a waste of everyone’s time because the guy doesn’t ever really say anything of substance.
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