Nick’s NHL Wrap January 25th, 2019

What’s Trending: Big Changes in Edmonton

Tuesday night the Edmonton Oilers fired General Manager Peter Chiarelli at the second intermission of their loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, you read that right, the Oilers fired their GM at the intermission of a home game. Ownership just reached a breaking point following the team’s lackluster performance against Detroit and made a move they should have made years ago.

The question coming out of the firing is why allow Chiarelli to extend new starting goal tender Mikko Koskinen to a 3-year deal at 4.5 million per season on Monday?

Koskinen has played alright this season for Edmonton and looks like he has some upside, but there is no way to justify that deal for a 30-year-old net minder after just 25 starts. But then again, it’s hard to justify almost all of Chiarelli’s moves. From trading Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall for almost no return, to trading key 2015 draft picks for Griffin Reinhart, and let’s not leave out the long-term deal to which he signed the aging Milan Lucic.

What’s done is done and Keith Gretzky now takes over as Edmonton’s GM. Whether it’s Gretzky or another person from outside the organization, turning the Oilers around will be a monumental task.

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