Chiarelli Appreciation Thread

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Depends on what kind of egos they are. I really don't know, with the exception that none of them took to Yak much and that some of them have been outwardly critical of Yak but mostly under Eakins direction who was also scapegoating Yak from the start.

Nelson put a stop to all that nonsense and Roy came in to resurrect Yak. Now Nelson and Roy are gone.

Its my take Yak won't even be here for very long. I think that writing has been on the wall for a long time and continues to be.

I would be surprised if Nelson doesn't land another NHL gig within a year.

Fact of the matter is McLellan is better then Nelson.
Yak could easily play with say, Pouliot and McDavid and that will be absolutely fine egowise as Pouliot and McDavid have 0 ego.

I honestly feel like Eakins put a lot of blame on Yak and the team might of followed suit. McLellan won't let that happen.

 

[Soundwave]

My only jersey is a rookie Yakupov jersey...

I hope they at least give him a chance under the new coaching before dumping him for peanuts.

It looks like Chiarelli is willing to give Yakupov and Schultz both a chance.

 

[Replacement*]

I agree and it makes me feel even worse for McDavid. He's probably considered the saviour by the guys who are supposed to show him the ropes and cover for him. I can't imagine how that kind of pressure would feel like. I believe he can handle it, but damn.

Its going to be awkward, and clearly, and its part of what I like about the unassuming McDavid who scores 5 goals in a scrimmage and is pretty much apologizing for his otherworldly skillsets and making org players look silly in comparison.

McDavid seems almost shy about completely undressing others and doing it repeatedly. Interesting and likeable character.

McDavid; "Oh, I'm sorry I scored, Oh I'm sorry I scored, whoops, I did it again"

My question isn't how McDavid will handle this. its how others will handle being reduced fiddles..

 

[Aerrol]

It looks like Chiarelli is willing to give Yakupov and Schultz both a chance.

Yeah things look good right now but you never know. They're both definitely teetering in the edge here.

 

[Aerrol]

Its going to be awkward, and clearly, and its part of what I like about the unassuming McDavid who scores 5 goals in a scrimmage and is pretty much apologizing for his otherworldly skillsets and making org players look silly in comparison.

McDavid seems almost shy about completely undressing others and doing it repeatedly. Interesting and likeable character.

My question isn't how McDavid will handle this. its how others will handle being reduced fiddles..

I figure this will only be an issue if we don't improve at all. If we're winning more I doubt anyone is going to pout.

 

[Soundwave]

Its going to be awkward, and clearly, and its part of what I like about the unassuming McDavid who scores 5 goals in a scrimmage and is pretty much apologizing for his otherworldly skillsets and making org players look silly in comparison.

McDavid seems almost shy about completely undressing others and doing it repeatedly. Interesting and likeable character.

My question isn't how McDavid will handle this. its how others will handle being reduced fiddles..

The reason McDavid can handle it is because he's simply better than everyone else.

The best of our four kids outside of him is Hall, and lets be honest, he's not as good as Tavares/Stamkos.

Hall could make a nice speech about carrying the load, but he wouldn't be able to carry this franchise.

McDavid has the higher end elite talent.

 

[Replacement*]

Fact of the matter is McLellan is better then Nelson.
Yak could easily play with say, Pouliot and McDavid and that will be absolutely fine egowise as Pouliot and McDavid have 0 ego.

I honestly feel like Eakins put a lot of blame on Yak and the team might of followed suit. McLellan won't let that happen.

Fair point I have just mentioned as well and I hope it lands at something like that. But I really doubt it with this org that have me convinced Yak is still on the outs. If the Oil dealt Yak for not much at all wouldn't surprise me in the least.

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah things look good right now but you never know. They're both definitely teetering in the edge here.

And they should be on a short leash. They need to put up or shut up next season. No excuses.

 

[Replacement*]

My only jersey is a rookie Yakupov jersey...

I hope they at least give him a chance under the new coaching before dumping him for peanuts.

My wifes only Jersey is a Yakupov Jersey..

She'll think I'm cheap getting a Jersey of a player departing even though I did get it from game on when Yak was clearly on the outs and so much that all his jerseys were on sale..

In fairness the only Jersey I have is Ryan Smyth, bought on departed player firesale..

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Its going to be awkward, and clearly, and its part of what I like about the unassuming McDavid who scores 5 goals in a scrimmage and is pretty much apologizing for his otherworldly skillsets and making org players look silly in comparison.

McDavid seems almost shy about completely undressing others and doing it repeatedly. Interesting and likeable character.

My question isn't how McDavid will handle this. its how others will handle being reduced fiddles..

They will probably love having a reduced stress load. They have had all the spot light and a heavy load and literally nothing to show for it. It might be relieving playing with less stress on them, like Eberle mentioned playing for Nelson was more fun and less stressful which made them play better.

Not being the best player on the team might do Hall and Eberle some good.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

And they should be on a short leash. They need to put up or shut up next season. No excuses.

I agree. Keep them till at least the trade deadline and trade them for an improvement if needed.

If Yak can't put up good numbers with McDavid, he never will.

 

[Replacement*]

I figure this will only be an issue if we don't improve at all. If we're winning more I doubt anyone is going to pout.

You're probably right. Good thing I guess we have the underlings locked up longterm. I have some concerns with eberle and RNH though. They always seem content to let somebody else take control in games and be the driving force. Indeed with them looking better anytime Hall is out. This backseat contentment concerns me somewhat on a club that now has McDavid overshadowing everything. Our stars have to be comfortable with a workman consistent effort and not getting the gaze and fame. We'll see, maybe they welcome that too. Just don't disappear expecting Connor to pull the train.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

You're probably right. Good thing I guess we have the underlings locked up longterm. I have some concerns with eberle and RNH though. They always seem content to let somebody else take control in games and be the driving force. Indeed with them looking better anytime Hall is out. This backseat contentment concerns me somewhat on a club that now has McDavid overshadowing everything. Our stars have to be comfortable with a workman consistent effort and not getting the gaze and fame. We'll see, maybe they welcome that too. Just don't disappear expecting Connor to pull the train.

You are half right and the wrong half destroys that argument.

RNH and Eberle play better when Hall is off their line. When Hall is uninjured and on other lines the still play fine. You can only really have 2 guys who drive the play on a line.. having 3 just makes things awkward.

RNH will probably play better as he actually as a center as competetion

 

[BlowbyBlow]

The reason McDavid can handle it is because he's simply better than everyone else.

The best of our four kids outside of him is Hall, and lets be honest, he's not as good as Tavares/Stamkos.

Hall could make a nice speech about carrying the load, but he wouldn't be able to carry this franchise.

McDavid has the higher end elite talent.

Mcdavid is obviously the higher talent, but the one thing is Mcdavid has been groomed for a better part of his life as the unquestionable player to watch out for, and be the leader.

Hall is a great talent, but much like Seguin (same draft year), or even RNH there is many #1 picks that can be captains, but there is a whole lot that aren't great captains.

There is guys who are also great leaders but not captains. I think Joe thornton as part of a group is a great leader, but i never felt like he's a great captain, and part of any captain is having a great support group.

Scott Stevens was one of the greatest captains but he also had Daneyko, Brodeur, Niedermeyer, Guerin, and even Elias, Rafalski, and Sykora

 

[LTIR]

Lets look at our forward core at the end of last season.

Pouliot - RNH - Eberle
Hall - Roy - Yakupov
Purcell - Lander - Miller
Hendricks - Gordon - Klinkhammer

Look at it now...

Pouliot - RNH - Eberle
Hall - McDavid - Yakupov
Korpikoski - Lander - Purcell
Hendricks - Letetsu - Klinkhammer

Roy < McDavid (Chia had no role here)
Miller < Korpikoski
Letetsu = Gordon (Seems like Gordons back was getting much worse. Gordon is slightly better faceoff wise and a little better defensively but Letetsu is better offensively and is younger)

So the bottom 6 has improved. And so bad the top 6.

Our d core at the end of the season. ..
Klefbom - Schultz
Nikitin - Fayne
Ference - Aulie

Now?

Klefbom- Fayne
Sekera - Schultz
Reinhart - Gryba
Ference/Nikitin

Nikitin <<<< Sekera
Aulie << Gryba
Ference < Reinhart

So our defense had improved however we have dead space to move out.

End of the season we had

Scrivens, Fasth and Bachman

Now we have

Scrivens, Talbot and Nilsson

Talbot is way better then Fasth and Nilsson is a little better then Bachman.

All spots that have changed are clear improvements except our 4c which is a lateral move.

Chia also got us much much better coaching.

Like it or not Chia has definitely improved the team.

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

wait... what??

btw you forgot Talbot>Fasth

 

[McDeepika]

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

Well said

 

[Pointteen]

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

The only reason Islander fans are happy with that trade is because they have so much prospect depth on defense. So them acquiring a forward instead makes sense.
Even still, I read several Islanders fans disappointed to see Reinhart go.
Nikitin vs Gryba is ridiculous. One seemed like he got trainers to tie his skates. The other is fresh blood with a mean streak.
Korpse for Gordon was done because Letestu agreed to terms. So it is Gordon for Korpse and Letestu. When Letestu is almost as good as Gordon, makes significantly less and allows us to buy low on a player who has been very good, you try it.
Or are we content to draft another can't miss forward next season?

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

I'm sorry but Sekera and Petry are even? Sekera is a much better player then Petry.

And no not any idiot could of pulled this off.

If we still had MacT we would of signed Oduya to 6 mill a year, picked up John Scott instead of Letetsu and would be paying Christ Stewart 5 mill over 5 years.

And you have no idea if Green would of come here for more term. You have 0 way to know that .

Being a gm isn't as easy as.

I'm gonna offer these players for this guy and you are going to say yes. Or offering a free agent so much money.

If it was that easy every gm would be a great one.

 

[Game 8]

Mcdavid is obviously the higher talent, but the one thing is Mcdavid has been groomed for a better part of his life as the unquestionable player to watch out for, and be the leader.

Hall is a great talent, but much like Seguin (same draft year), or even RNH there is many #1 picks that can be captains, but there is a whole lot that aren't great captains.

There is guys who are also great leaders but not captains. I think Joe thornton as part of a group is a great leader, but i never felt like he's a great captain, and part of any captain is having a great support group.

Scott Stevens was one of the greatest captains but he also had Daneyko, Brodeur, Niedermeyer, Guerin, and even Elias, Rafalski, and Sykora

The biggest change I think you will see on this team is if the culture does not change from last year you will see one of if not two of Hall Eberle or RNH traded. Yak, Drai, or Shultz will be moved if something crazy is offered for them but people are barking up the wrong tree here. Last year no one on this team gave two ****'s about winning. If that does not do a 180 Chi will trade an attitude away to wake the rest up. Trading a secondary guy will not accomplish that. Just something to ponder. IMHO

 

[guymez]

If we had hired
Buchberger as GM he wouldve improved our team too... You just cant compare the team from end of last yr to now... I see things as Petry = Sekera, nikitin = Gryba, Gordon > Korpi.. Zthe D is not much better than the one that buckled last season.

Sekera is a better player than Petry. That will reveal itself as the season progresses.
Suggesting that Gryba is the equivalent to Nikitin is ...well...perplexing to say the least. Not sure how you think they are the same player. One is an effective bottom pairing dman with a manageable cap hit...one isnt.

As for the Gordon > Koprikoski....this is a false narrative. Gordon doesn't get dealt if Chiarelli doesn't have Letestu in his back pocket. I am sure you know this already.
So the comparison really is between Letestu and Gordon. One is a 4th line specialty player with no offense...the other is a 3rd line player with more versatility to his game. A small drop off in faceoff percentage is worth it when you are adding elements like offence.

Considering whats still available on UFA market anyone couldve improved our team .

Korpakowski, Gryba and Reinhart were all potential busts for their teams.. Losing these 3 meant nothing to the fans of their previous clubs but we speng 16th, 33rd, Marincin, Gordon to acquire these. Had we thrown term at Green he wouldve signed here.. franson and Ehrhoff are still kicking around.

How was Gryba a potential bust? Clearly you know nothing about this player.
Reinhart is a prospect...he could be a bust but its way too early to suggest this. I think the team gave up too much for this player. I also think he will only ever be a bottom pairing dman. He could prove me wrong.

Korpikoski is a big question mark but in essence he was a throw in that could find his game. Stay tuned on that.

The addition of Sekera is the key addition IMO. Unlike Petry Sekera is a legit #2 dman and he will do something that Petry was never able to do. Stabalize the defence.

That being said there is obviously still a ton of work to do. The team is still needs another top 4 defender and the goaltending is still a question mark. These changes though have to include to coaching...this has been upgraded in a major way and this will bring with it a general improvement of every player on the team.
Systems will be better and there will be an added level of accountability with every player. Its a fresh start and that will ultimately be the biggest positive change for this team IMO. Even bigger than adding a potential 70 point player in McDavid. No I am not giving Chiarelli credit for MacDavid but he will help make this team better this season and much much better in seasons to come as he gets more experience..
In the final analysis a lot has happened this off season. All of it very positive.


Based on all the moves so far I see this team as at least 20-25 points better than last season.
Thats a significant improvement and as most of this board is painfully aware by now I am not exactly the eternal Oiler optimist on these boards.

So for me Chiarelli has done a good job so far but there is a lot left to be written.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

Chiarelli is doing a great job, but it looks like he's damned if he makes a move damned if he doesn't.

I'm certain people want the team to improve.....by doing nothing.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

way too early to appreciate Chiarelli, imo

 

[McDeepika]

The fact is that the problems this team has had are still there.

The defense is still very bad. Sekera is a good addition but there just isn't any real impact players back there. Maybe Nurse/Klefbom/Reinhart can develop faster/better than expected but this is still a huge concern.

Our top forwards are still really bad defensively. Hall, Eberle, Yakupov are going to be getting big minutes and none have shown that the can be competent in their own zone. Maybe coaching with help this year, or maybe these are just bad defensive players.

I'd say goaltending has been addressed on paper so we should be stronger in that area.

McDavid, Talbot and coaching will make a difference this year. Not sure Chiarelli's other roster moves are going to have much of an impact.

 

[tiger_80]

Mac T is amazed that you can trade draft picks for actual proven NHL players.

Well, MacT has been doing just that, trading players for picks and prospects!