[News] Oilers fire Chiarelli. Nicholson: "There is something in the water here in Edmonton."

[transplant99]

So Staples laid some things out today...

1) Since Katz took over in July 2008, Lowe has hired two GMs in Steve Tambellini in 2008 and Craig MacTavish in 2013 (MacTavish is still VP of hockey operations with the Oilers, the highest hockey ops position now that Chiarelli, who was president of hockey ops, is gone, with Keith Gretzky reporting to MacTavish, according to the organizational flow chart).

2) But for all that, I kow read from my Journal colleague Jim Matheson: “Nicholson has to look at people from good organizations and he’s not making this hire in a vacuum. You can bet Kevin Lowe, the former Oilers GM, will have input. It won’t be Nicholson making the call by himself.”

All due respect to Lowe, who is a fine man and had his day as GM, but he’s got two strikes in terms of hiring GMs. He should not be part of this decision.

Just bananas.

Then there is this....these two paragraphs are from this same article.

This is the only thing that gives me confidence Nicholson will get it right. He’s been down this path before, he blew it big time and he sounds determined not to make the same errors.

So I have my doubts about whether or not Nicholson will get this next hiring right.

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/h...-choose-new-gm

[Macindoc]

Amazing. They've realized that "there's something in the water", but the management, media and fans are still drinking the Kool-Aid.

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

Amazing. They've realized that "there's something in the water", but the management, media and fans are still drinking the Kool-Aid.

Kinda like Scientology in a way.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

[browna]

Nicholson is and was a glad hander at Hockey Canada and was approved by Wayne and that's also where the Chia tie came from, as he was part of the 2010 Olympic executive (as was Tambelleni previously) . Just another person with a title that Katz collected, and really no experience in running an NHL franchise, which is much different than a political post with Hockey Canada.

LOL at Staples thinking Lowe isn't elbows deep in any decision going forward. GM choice, draft, day to day decisions, he's back. It's more likely Lowe telling Staples to throw that in there. McTavish was his puppet since he finally let him go as coach, and he's been the spy on the ground for Lowe since Lowe was relegated to the shadows after being demoted when Chia was hired.

Bottom line, Lowe will find the GM that gives the impression is a change or a forward thinker. It will be someone he can control through MacTavish and that Nicholson can formerly hire and get credit for interviewing and "choosing",and take the blame when that GM falls flat in trying to change an organization that doesn't really want it becuase of a guy like Lowe sinking the franchise into the toilet with his ego, yet is back to calling the shots and being the most trusted advisor of the owner.

The Oilers are carefully peeling back the layers of the onion and its looking thankfully the same rotten peice that it was before. Nicholson is the new face, and Lowe keeps a low profile, but at some point he's going to speak and be front and center, if only in a brief moment of weekness (like when the tier 1 fan presser went sideways after he got flustered as an example) as his ego can't be kept in check.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by transplant99

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/h...-choose-new-gm

What a piece of work Staples is. A couple of gems, and I'm not even finished reading the article:

In MacTavish’s case, he was looking to hire an asst. coach for Krueger when he met up with Eakins and was so impressed he hired him on as head coach.

No. Eakins was the hot commodity at the time, and the Oilers wanted to look good by snapping him up ahead of everyone else. They did it for the accolades they thought they'd get.

The one thing that was very evident was that what Peter built in Boston, it was really Keith on the amateur side of the game that had built it.

And there it is, the groundwork being laid for Keith's "interim" title being removed.

Staples, such a putz.

[crapshoot]

Originally Posted by the2bears

And there it is, the groundwork being laid for Keith's "interim" title being removed.

Staples, such a putz.

Amazing. It looks like they might actually hand the GM position to the protegee of the GM they just canned for being terrible at everything. And everybody in Edmonton will be happy and praise management for making such a bold move. Never ever change Oilers.

[GGG]

So I just want to get this straight here.

The Bruins won a cup in 2011, Gretzky was hired by the Bruins in 2011 and promoted in 2013. The success of the Bruins was driven by Keith Gretzky?

I’m confused.

[Luder]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

Amazing. They've realized that "there's something in the water", but the management, media and fans are still drinking the Kool-Aid.

maybe that "something in the water" IS the Kool-Aid!

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by transplant99

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/h...-choose-new-gm

I should repeat that at the time I was more than pleased with the Chiarelli signing, which goes to show why fans like me would make poor NHL hockey presidents and GMs. Of course, I wasn’t alone in liking Chiarelli and his popularity remained strong for a long time, with 98 per cent of fans approving of his work in a massive Journal poll done after the 2017 playoffs. And, remember, this poll was after he had traded away Taylor Hall, traded for Griffin Reinhart and signed up Milan Lucic.

That's hilarious. Quotes like this are why I feel zero sympathy for those fans. You guys were completely on-board with the moves Chia was making. You approved it.

He made your bed, now lie in it.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by crapshoot

Amazing. It looks like they might actually hand the GM position to the protegee of the GM they just canned for being terrible at everything. And everybody in Edmonton will be happy and praise management for making such a bold move. Never ever change Oilers.

That's what I said the other day. Usually when a guy is fired his hand-picked assistants go with him, or at least don't get promoted full time.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by GGG

So I just want to get this straight here.

The Bruins won a cup in 2011, Gretzky was hired by the Bruins in 2011 and promoted in 2013. The success of the Bruins was driven by Keith Gretzky?

I’m confused.

I'm pretty sure he was hired a regional scout (I'm assuming amateur) in 2011 but only after the 2011 draft, when he was still head scout with the Yotes. So he could not possibly have had an impact on the cup win.

Here's a 2016 Boston story on his drafting:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/b...iHM/story.html

[JackIsBack]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I'm pretty sure he was hired a regional scout (I'm assuming amateur) in 2011 but only after the 2011 draft, when he was still head scout with the Yotes. So he could not possibly have had an impact on the cup win.

His name is Gretzky... of course he had a hand in Boston's Cup victory - duh. He was also instrumental in everything good that Chia did and opposed every bad move that Chia made... this is why he deserves to be GM. When the Coyotes win - it's all on him, when they lose, it's on their new head scout. He was also very much involved in the 84, 85, 87, 88 cup victories as well - I mean, his last name is Gretzky and he did know his older brother quite well.


I'm just shocked that you people don't see this clearly - like Edmonton fans do - it's really easy to see what a great hockey mind everyone with the last name Gretzky has - It's not a matter of when Gretzky will win us a cup as GM... it's just a matter of how many in a row he'll win - clearly it's at least 4.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

That's hilarious. Quotes like this are why I feel zero sympathy for those fans. You guys were completely on-board with the moves Chia was making. You approved it.

He made your bed, now lie in it.

"Massive Journal Poll"? Does he mean those online polls on their website that were linked here? No wonder his approval was so high.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GGG

So I just want to get this straight here.

The Bruins won a cup in 2011, Gretzky was hired by the Bruins in 2011 and promoted in 2013. The success of the Bruins was driven by Keith Gretzky?

I’m confused.

It was Jeff Gorton that deserves most of the credit for building the Bruins Cup winning team.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

That's what I said the other day. Usually when a guy is fired his hand-picked assistants go with him, or at least don't get promoted full time.

Kind of like when Weisbrod was shown the door with Feaster.

[CroFlames]

I think there's something in the water in Cole Harbour, NS, but that's none of my business.



The Oilers just have an old boys club that is not very smart at hockeying.

[JackIsBack]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

It was Jeff Gorton that deserves most of the credit for building the Bruins Cup winning team.

Guys.... guys... stop thinking, that's your problem. You need to suspend all logic and just stop using any parts of your brain... of course Keith Gretzky is responsible for that win in 2011, just ask the Oiler's they'll give it to you straight. I mean the Kings won cups in 2012 and 2014 - and Wayne Gretzky did play there - I'm just saying - there is a pattern here.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Guys,
You are totally missing the point of Staples piece.

The one thing that was very evident was that what Peter built in Boston, it was really Keith on the amateur side of the game that had built it.

He's not talking about building the cup winning team, he's talking about building the cap jail cell that Chia left behind when he left Boston.
Kind of like the one he built in Edmonton.

Come on Keith, you're done playing second fiddle to that hach Chia.
You get to work, and show everyone what a real cap jail cell looks like.
It's gonna be the best, with stalls for future Stanley Cups, dozens of places to hang banners, and a big smoldering tire fire right in the middle.

Get ready everyone. They're building something special up there.

[GioforPM]

I did not do an extensive search for a general manager because I knew Peter Chiarelli. He had won a Stanley Cup.

Fun fact: Jay Feaster won a cup.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

"Massive Journal Poll"? Does he mean those online polls on their website that were linked here? No wonder his approval was so high.

I thought we did a Jihad of that poll?