Peter Chiarelli and the NHL's All Time Poor GM Reigns

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

So within a mere 2 years or so, Peter Chiarelli has managed to permanently cripple the Oilers with "amazing" moves such as:

-Matt Barzal+33 overall for Griffin Reinhart
-Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome
-Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson
-Justin Schultz for 3rd round pick
-Milan Lucic for 6 million 7 years NMC
-Kris Russell for 4 million 4 years NMC (seriously wtf?)
-Leon Draisaitl to 8.5 million when every other team got their young ppg player coming off an ELC for 6-7 million
-trading for Eric Gryba, then playing him on an NHL roster, then resigning him for 2 years (again wtf?)
-signing Jussi Jokinen, then trading him for the equally worthless Mike Cammalleri
-choosing Jonas Monster and Laurent Brossoit as backup goalies in consecutive seasons
-failing to resign Tyler Pitlick
-failing to resign Jordan Oesterle

The team has a generational talent on it and had been afforded multiple top 5 picks in the past decade, yet is looking at a potential bottom 5 finish, including a historically bad PK and an NHL worst scoring output from wingers, bottom feeding defense and power play, has one of the worst salary cap outlooks in the NHL, and one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL, with recent 1st round pick Kailer Yamamoto trending towards bust status and wasting draft capital everywhere, including the 2nd round pick the Oilers had to give up to get Chiarelli in the first place.

The sheer incompetence of this one GM during his stint with the Oilers has me asking "what other GMs have managed to screw their teams over as hard as this guy?" Obviously you have your standard Mike Milbury answer, but what are some other GMs that have had a similar detrimental effect to their franchise as Peter Chiarelli has done to the Oilers?

Click to read more...

 

[seventieslord]

I read this a week ago and laughed.

How the Oilers gifted the Islanders with hockey's best 2nd line

"Snow then revisited the Chiarelli vending machine this offseason..." -

 

[Johnny Engine]

Rejean Houle, Ned Harkness are the first two that come to mind.
Don Waddell and Doug MacLean didn't really have anything to ruin when they started, but they spun their wheels mightily.

 

[Hobnobs]

Other GMs well you had the epicness of Jack Adams who was the "builder" of the dead wings era.

Harry Sinden should be mentioned as well.

I am fully aware that these two was more out of spite than incompetence but still...

 

[blood gin]

Al Coates

 

[kaiser matias]

Other GMs well you had the epicness of Jack Adams who was the "builder" of the dead wings era.

Harry Sinden should be mentioned as well.

I am fully aware that these two was more out of spite than incompetence but still...

There's a lot to critique Adams for, and rightfully so, but he had nothing to do with the Dead Things. The man died in 1968, which was around when they started their descent into real bad. Of course he retired as GM back in 1962. The GMs responsible for that era would be Ned Harkness, Alex Delvecchio, and Ted Lindsay, though a case could be made for Sid Abel (he reached the Final 3 times in 9 years and left the post in 1971, but arguably laid the foundation). Adams was the only Red Wings GM to win the Cup (which he did 7 times) until Devellano and Holland came around.

 

[ResilientBeast]

-Matt Barzal+33 overall for Griffin Reinhart
-Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome
-Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson
-Justin Schultz for 3rd round pick
-Milan Lucic for 6 million 7 years NMC
-Kris Russell for 4 million 4 years NMC (seriously wtf?)
-Leon Draisaitl to 8.5 million when every other team got their young ppg player coming off an ELC for 6-7 million
-trading for Eric Gryba, then playing him on an NHL roster, then resigning him for 2 years (again wtf?)
-signing Jussi Jokinen, then trading him for the equally worthless Mike Cammalleri
-choosing Jonas Monster and Laurent Brossoit as backup goalies in consecutive seasons
-failing to resign Tyler Pitlick
-failing to resign Jordan Oesterle

- Bad move
- Eberle gave up on the Oilers he had to go sadly
- I was fine with it last year and I still am. Not picking a D screwed us into a bad trade
- Schultz gave up on the team he had to go, rewatch his tenure in Edmonton he was garbage
- Could've been worse, we needed some snarl and it worked for one year
- He's still movable after next year
- Leon had the Oilers by the balls
- Jokinen was to help acclimatize Pulujaarvi and Cammalleri has been okay
- Meh
- He couldn't stay healthy and the Stars were willing to give him 2 years
- He's not that great

 

[Hobnobs]

There's a lot to critique Adams for, and rightfully so, but he had nothing to do with the Dead Things. The man died in 1968, which was around when they started their descent into real bad. Of course he retired as GM back in 1962. The GMs responsible for that era would be Ned Harkness, Alex Delvecchio, and Ted Lindsay, though a case could be made for Sid Abel (he reached the Final 3 times in 9 years and left the post in 1971, but arguably laid the foundation). Adams was the only Red Wings GM to win the Cup (which he did 7 times) until Devellano and Holland came around.

Harkness is obviously the worst offender, Sid Abel however took over a team in disarray. Yes, they made the finals. Which is impressive considering Adams traded away the core. Last year of Adams tenure as GM Wings missed the playoffs. Scoring was abysmal and defense suffered. Adams laid the ground work for Detroits years of pain. The culprits in all of this was ofcourse the Norrises but he asked for GMs and Adams fit for his last dealings.

 

[bobholly39]

Going into this season oilers and fans thought they had a great team and would be strong contenders. If you guys had played well and contended you'd be making that thread praising all these moves.

I guess what I'm saying is there' a very fine line between calling a gm horrible or great and doing it within a bad season doesn't usually give enough perspective.

If the Oilers rebound and make the playoffs and go far do all those moves start to look good again?
Give it at least 5 years before judging it from a historical standpoint

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Other GMs well you had the epicness of Jack Adams who was the "builder" of the dead wings era.

Harry Sinden should be mentioned as well.

I am fully aware that these two was more out of spite than incompetence but still...

No, he shouldn't.

 

[Hobnobs]

Going into this season oilers and fans thought they had a great team and would be strong contenders. If you guys had played well and contended you'd be making that thread praising all these moves.

I guess what I'm saying is there' a very fine line between calling a gm horrible or great and doing it within a bad season doesn't usually give enough perspective.

If the Oilers rebound and make the playoffs and go far do all those moves start to look good again?
Give it at least 5 years before judging it from a historical standpoint

I don't think so. Their were the same criticisms last year when they played very well for stretches and made the playoffs. These moves are simply awful no matter how you look at it. In five years they will still have $27000000 locked up in 3 players. Albeit one of them will be a free agent that summer.

 

[Hobnobs]

No, he shouldn't.

His stubborness and constant bad mouthing of players didnt serve Bruins well during my life time. Do you have another view of his behaviour during the 90s-00s?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

His stubborness and constant bad mouthing of players didnt serve Bruins well during my life time. Do you have another view of his behaviour during the 90s-00s?

My lifetime goes back to when Sinden started as a GM. Considering how many great teams he had it seems foolish to say he should be mentioned in the "all-time poor GM reigns" thread.

As for the 1990s, the Bruins went to the finals one year. Had three 100 point seasons. Rebuilt a team that came in last in the league one year to the playoffs in the next.

 

[Voight]

I read this a week ago and laughed.

How the Oilers gifted the Islanders with hockey's best 2nd line

"Snow then revisited the Chiarelli vending machine this offseason..." -

Yea, I laughed at that one too.

There was another article like that for Vegas - how one of the most productive lines in hockey is made of up of Florida Panthers who play for Vegas.

- Leon had the Oilers by the balls

I disagree with this. Why exactly did he have them by the balls as opposed to Pastrnak, Gaudreau, Monahan etc? Look at JG for example, he held out until the reg season yet settled for the Flames offer of 6.75 million.

 

[Big Phil]

No, he shouldn't.

I'd say Sinden definitely belongs on a list like this. Ray Bourque was as loyal as a golden retriever, but if he knows he can't possibly win a Cup on the team he's on that says something. Sinden, and Jeremy Jacobs, belong here I think.

 

[Big Phil]

My first reaction was Milbury. I have tried looking at his trades in the way a defense lawyer might defend a murder client, but I can't. He's the Ted Bundy of GMs, I can't defend him. In the summer of 1997 I honestly thought the Isles were going to eventually be a powerhouse again. They had drafted Luongo and Brewer, had this towering defenseman in Chara come in and they had a pretty young core in Bertuzzi, McCabe and even Palffy was pretty young then. How you mess that up takes something special, but he did it.

As a Leaf fan I have to give a shout out to John Ferguson Jr. Inherits a perennial Cup contender and oversees a team that still was on in 2004, although he had nothing to do with it. Then gives a bunch of ridiculous no-trade clauses to players that had no business getting them. Sundin deserved one, but that was it. Pavel Kubina had a no-trade clause. Let that sink in. He fired Pat Quinn in the classic "I'll fire the coach to save my job" switcheroo and replaced him with Paul Maurice. Then he had the audacity in interviews after he was fired to defend his reign by saying (and I heard him say this more than once) "My record speaks for itself." Basically he was taking pride in being above .500 in the 4 years he was there but he missed the playoffs three times! My nostrils immediately flare if I ever see a picture of him.

Jack Adams and Peter Pocklington are the only two GMs/owners who literally ended a dynasty because of their own stubbornness. Maybe the Habs start winning anyway in 1956, but Adams traded away Sawchuk in 1955 and then Lindsay in 1957. We all know what Pocklington did in 1988.

I will admit that I didn't see the whole Chiarelli thing coming. This was a guy who built a nice Bruins team that won a Cup and I figure he is going to walk right into the Oilers and win. How can you screw that up, right? Well.............

I just remember my reaction when I heard about the Hall/Larsson trade. I thought it was a rumour and sort of laughed thinking: "Can you imagine a GM actually doing that?" Then I realized it happened. Then the Strome for Eberle deal. I have a relative who is a huge Oilers fan and hates my Leafs with a blind passion. I told him that in 2019 were are meeting in the Cup final. When I talked about those awful trades he defended them like a mother with her baby cub. He hasn't praised the Oilers in months since.

 

[Michael Farkas]

The Oilers didn't trade Barzal...

 

[Voight]

The Oilers didn't trade Barzal...

The Isles were only going to make the trade if he was available..... and he was the best player available when the trade happened (when the Oilers were OTC).... so yes they did.....

 

[reckoning]

Chiarelli and Sinden are not even in the conversation. If you want to talk about the worst ever, you have to look at people like Harkness in Detroit, Miron in Colorado, Bastien in Pittsburgh, Waddell in Atlanta. Those are GMs who had literally no team success during their time there, and had nothing to show for it as far as prospects go for all those years of futility.

If you want to choose somebody recent, it should be Tim Murray. It's going to take the Sabres years to dig out of the hole he buried them in. I'd trade their current roster, prospects, and contracts for Edmonton's in a heartbeat.

 

[McGarnagle]

Real talk, Bergevin is up there too.

And Kevin Lowe, who put the Oilers in the hole that they were about the climb out of before Chiarelli started digging again

 

[Hobnobs]

Chiarelli and Sinden are not even in the conversation. If you want to talk about the worst ever, you have to look at people like Harkness in Detroit, Miron in Colorado, Bastien in Pittsburgh, Waddell in Atlanta. Those are GMs who had literally no team success during their time there, and had nothing to show for it as far as prospects go for all those years of futility.

If you want to choose somebody recent, it should be Tim Murray. It's going to take the Sabres years to dig out of the hole he buried them in. I'd trade their current roster, prospects, and contracts for Edmonton's in a heartbeat.

While I agree I also disagree. Chiarelli is digging a hole while having the best player in the league on his roster. Sinden managed to do it with the best defenseman on the roster. As for worst ever? No, ofcourse they arent but the thread was about GMs like Chiarelli sort of. And right now Chiarelli might be the worst GM in the league together with Tim Murray.

 

[reckoning]

Sinden did make some good moves: stole Cam Neely and the Glen Wesley pick from Vancouver, dealt Janney to get Oates from St. Louis, then got a good return for Oates a few years later when he wanted out. Signed an undrafted Geoff Courtnall, who was later moved for Andy Moog. Signed a free agent Reggie Lemelin who helped them finally beat Montreal in the playoffs. His draft record was decent, but had some bad luck with how things turned out with Leveille and Kluzak.

His good moves outnumbered his bad ones. The big problem was that Boston wouldn't pay their players what they were worth, but that blame falls on Jacobs.

He never was able to win the Cup as GM, but had several good seasons. If a GM is a disappointment because he never won a Cup, that's setting the bar really high.

 

[Mr Positive]

I know that it's looking like we aren't making the playoffs, so if this is a venting thread then I guess I understand, but it's just not a nuanced look at things.

-Barzal+ for Reinhart- yes has been described as a bad move for a long time now, but also is a hindsight thing. Almost everyone thought that the Oilers should trade that mid 1st rounder for a Dman of some kind.

-players like Schultz and Eberle were not working out here, and weren't impact players for us. They needed fresh starts, and in Eberle's case that was cap motivated.

-Larsson for Hall was in the Oilers favor last year, and in the Devils favor this year. As trades go it is okay, and it's not like it's in the league of a Gomez for McDonaugh type of thing. Larsson is a solid young core piece for us going forward. We weren't going to get Doughty for Hall, or even someone like Parayko

-Lucic has been worth his contract. Yes, it is true. Same with Draisaitl, and the argument that we could have got him for 6-7 doesn't hold water. That doesn't pay attention to playoff contribution, the position he plays, and cap growth.

-a lot of those other moves in the OP are just nothing moves of little consequence either way.

And ultimately, even though things look a little rough atm in the standings, the team does have a great future ahead. It's a young team with an off year. It happens, and it's not like Chiarelli destroyed this team's potential. It's just the opposite.

 

[The Panther]

I don't think so. Their were the same criticisms last year when they played very well for stretches and made the playoffs. These moves are simply awful no matter how you look at it. In five years they will still have $27000000 locked up in 3 players. Albeit one of them will be a free agent that summer.

As an Oilers' fan, I view that as a good thing, not a bad thing.

I don't know if you cheer for Edmonton, but longtime fans have become accustomed to F.A.'s bolting from the team as soon as they could, star players demanding trades away (ex: Pronger), other teams' F.A.s refusing to join the team (ex: Heatley), and of course star players being dealt away to save money (too many to mention). So, for me, it's absolutely wonderful that a few core young stats are locked in with big contracts.

 

[The Panther]

I know that it's looking like we aren't making the playoffs, so if this is a venting thread then I guess I understand, but it's just not a nuanced look at things.

-Barzal+ for Reinhart- yes has been described as a bad move for a long time now, but also is a hindsight thing. Almost everyone thought that the Oilers should trade that mid 1st rounder for a Dman of some kind.

-players like Schultz and Eberle were not working out here, and weren't impact players for us. They needed fresh starts, and in Eberle's case that was cap motivated.

-Larsson for Hall was in the Oilers favor last year, and in the Devils favor this year. As trades go it is okay, and it's not like it's in the league of a Gomez for McDonaugh type of thing. Larsson is a solid young core piece for us going forward. We weren't going to get Doughty for Hall, or even someone like Parayko

-Lucic has been worth his contract. Yes, it is true. Same with Draisaitl, and the argument that we could have got him for 6-7 doesn't hold water. That doesn't pay attention to playoff contribution, the position he plays, and cap growth.

-a lot of those other moves in the OP are just nothing moves of little consequence either way.

And ultimately, even though things look a little rough atm in the standings, the team does have a great future ahead. It's a young team with an off year. It happens, and it's not like Chiarelli destroyed this team's potential. It's just the opposite.

I agree with your points. This will be a failed season in retrospect because the team is going to miss the playoffs, BUT they're 14-9-1 since Nov.21 and were 47-26-9 last year with an exciting playoff run that would have seen them in the final-four but for a blown 3-0 lead with three minutes left in a game. The only problem is that in between 8 great months last season and 2 good months this season to date are six bad weeks in October/early-November 2017. Unfortunately, those six bad weeks cost them the season.

I didn't like the Eberle trade because they certainly could have got more for him. I'm fine with the Hall trade, which I think is going to be good from a future perspective.


The only move Chiarelli has made that I think was clearly poor was the Eberle for Strome trade. (Having said that, I quite like Strome, and Eberle essentially played himself off the team with his zero-effort performance in last spring's playoffs). But he's not one of the worst G.M.s ever because his team had a bad six weeks.


No, this is all about Milbury. Could coach. Could not manage a team.