News Article: Chiarelli: No intentions of firing McLellan

[McDrai]

If I had to pick between the 2 Chia would be gone 10 times out of 10. Too many dumb moves for my liking and terrible salary cap management.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

If this was the case then why not fire Todd now? If he can’t see he needs help now he never will. As a GM, how do you work with a guy like that? I know you’re only speculating but we’ve seen enough of Todd’s stubborn side to expect this is probably the truth.

If Mclellan would have said "Yup, go ahead, bring him in." that would have been a sign of defeat and failure that he and the current crew cannot fix the special teams. With stubborness comes pride and Mclellan doesn't want to taste any of his.

 

[Jet Walters]

but it isn't that cut and dry. you replaced eberle who is a top 6 winger and PP fixture for nothing. the replacement should be JP98 but they aren't using him on the top PP unit.

They replaced pouliot who is a better than average forechecking forward and an excellent penalty killer, no one can replace that value.

he left holes, big ones

Have you forgotten that Eberle lost his spot to Letestu last year on the top unit around Christmas? After they made that switch the top unit took off, not when Eberle was on it. We still have the same players who were the #2 PP in the entire league from that point on, with Pulju in for Eberle on unit #2 being the only exception.

There is no chance that losing Poiliot is the reason our PK is the worst in modern NHL history either.

Klefbom and Talbot's regression are the main factors in the Oilers decline, with illness and injury also contributing, but I feel something is very wrong in the locker room this year too. The team has literally lost it's mojo. Maybe there was some truth to the Draisaitl Nurse stuff we heard early in the year?

 

[missinthejets]

I don't think these guys are very good, they are being given credit for a very good season on the back of Talbot last year.

If they are so great, it should not be this hard to put together two good seasons in a row.

Ask yourself honestly if this d-group has even played 6-7 games this year where they were great. They have not.

Adam Larsson is not a difference maker, he is an above average D, the type of guy every team has one of, the overrating of this guy by Oiler fans to defend his trade is ridiculous.

He doesn't skate well, he doesn't have a good pass. He has a muffin of a shot and no offensive ability. He hits people. He loses his coverage a fair amount of times.

Klefbom had a good offensive season last year but has always had lots of defensive brain farts. This year he can't shoot the puck and his D is being exposed.

Rest of the group is nothing special. Not a single real top flight D or anyone even close here. You think anyone fears Adam Larsson ... lol. He is a Travis Hamonic tier player. Nothing special.

I think you're inventing an argument that isn't there. No one is claiming that they're the best group of D going, hell I even said they're not very dynamic offensively as a group, which does more to hold back the offense of the forward than a lot of people think, but prior to this year they were at least a capable group of defending.

All I am saying is that all of them with only maybe the one exception are playing worse than last year. You yourself acknowledged that Klefbom is playing worse offensively, but he had 2 good seasons prior to that.

Larsson is what he is, he's a guy that plays well in his own end and works best with a more offensively gifted player, which as you said, he didn't get from Klefbom this year.

Sekera goes without saying has missed a ton of time and isn't the same coming off a long term injury.

Russell is Russell, solid but needs to be the supporting player to a more dynamic guy, he had that last year, doesn't this year.

Benning I haven't been impressed with this year but he was solid for a rookie last year.

Last year the Oilers had success on D because they were sharing the load and they could put out 3 pairings that could at least keep their heads afloat, this year with all the steps back guys have taken they can't do that. That's all anyone is saying, you however seem determined to create an argument that isn't there. Klefbom and Larsson play this year like they did last year and with Nurse taking a step I think they could have gotten away with Sekera being out, but when Klefbom plays like ass for most of the year it's just too much when you don't have that stud #1 who can carry an entire corps. You build D by committee and they all crap their pants at the same time this is what happens. Throw in some putrid special teams and you get a team that is mentally fragile which is probably the single biggest issue for them now.

There is no magic bullet to fix this, it's a long slow process and there is no one person to blame. Everyone has made mistakes and everyone needs to take a look in the mirror and do what they can to fix it. Gotta be patient.

 

[rboomercat90]

This makes me sick to my stomach. We are absolutely ****ed.

Being led to slaughter by narcissists and sycophants who can't see the forest from the trees because they're too busy patting each other on the ass for lucking their way into things.

Why the **** would professional athletes be accountable and display work ethic when, starting at the very top, the executives aren't held accountable? Why would they be accountable when a coach staff that is historically inept is being given a vote of confidence when they repeatedly make it a point to put this team in the worst possible situation to succeed?

Absolutely repulsive lack of leadership. Wouldn't surprise me if McDavid eventually demands a trade out of this ****ty situation.

We won't win a single thing with McLellan as coach, his assistants handling Special Teams or Chia holding an executive position.

Where is McDavid going to go where his $12.5 million cap hit isn’t going to put him in the same boat he’s in now? Let’s not forget that starting next year he’s making $2million more than anybody else in the league. He needs to come to grips that his hit alone puts his team (Oilers or whoever else) in a bigger hole right off the bat than any other player in the league. It’s a reality and I’m sure he’s accepted it. I wish you and others would just stop with the “Connor is going to ask for a trade” crap.

 

[Soundwave]

I think you're inventing an argument that isn't there. No one is claiming that they're the best group of D going, hell I even said they're not very dynamic offensively as a group, which does more to hold back the offense of the forward than a lot of people think, but prior to this year they were at least a capable group of defending.

All I am saying is that all of them with only maybe the one exception are playing worse than last year. You yourself acknowledged that Klefbom is playing worse offensively, but he had 2 good seasons prior to that.

Larsson is what he is, he's a guy that plays well in his own end and works best with a more offensively gifted player, which as you said, he didn't get from Klefbom this year.

Sekera goes without saying has missed a ton of time and isn't the same coming off a long term injury.

Russell is Russell, solid but needs to be the supporting player to a more dynamic guy, he had that last year, doesn't this year.

Benning I haven't been impressed with this year but he was solid for a rookie last year.

Last year the Oilers had success on D because they were sharing the load and they could put out 3 pairings that could at least keep their heads afloat, this year with all the steps back guys have taken they can't do that. That's all anyone is saying, you however seem determined to create an argument that isn't there. Klefbom and Larsson play this year like they did last year and with Nurse taking a step I think they could have gotten away with Sekera being out, but when Klefbom plays like ass for most of the year it's just too much when you don't have that stud #1 who can carry an entire corps. You build D by committee and they all crap their pants at the same time this is what happens. Throw in some putrid special teams and you get a team that is mentally fragile which is probably the single biggest issue for them now.

There is no magic bullet to fix this, it's a long slow process and there is no one person to blame. Everyone has made mistakes and everyone needs to take a look in the mirror and do what they can to fix it. Gotta be patient.

I don't buy that Larsson is that good. The Oilers D group is not that good. Klefbom can be better but the rest of them are what they are.

We got blinded by an MVP tier season from Talbot last year.

That's the main difference. There's not one NHL star that can't walk all over this D-group or would fear them. It's a bunch of no.3s.

Even last year there were signs ... a team should not freaking blow a 3 goal lead in the 3rd period of a playoff game the the way the Oilers did and Nurse throwing Kesler onto his own goalie was idiotic. A lot of the "stupid" was hidden by Talbot.

 

[Lacaar]

Death by a thousand cuts translated means "The whole team sucks."

And well.. they do. Hell the whole damn organisation blows.
The game past them all by.

Fast and smart beats slow and stupid in today's NHL.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Death by a thousand cuts translated means "The whole team sucks."

And well.. they do. Hell the whole damn organisation blows.
The game past them all by.

Fast and smart beats slow and stupid in today's NHL.

I take it to mean "poor gming, poor coaching, injuries, illness, players not living up to expectations, bad luck, issues in the room, all rolled into one dung ball".

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I take it to mean "poor gming, poor coaching, injuries, illness, players not living up to expectations, bad luck, issues in the room, all rolled into one dung ball".

And yet now that they're healthy they're even worse.

 

[rboomercat90]

If Mclellan would have said "Yup, go ahead, bring him in." that would have been a sign of defeat and failure that he and the current crew cannot fix the special teams. With stubborness comes pride and Mclellan doesn't want to taste any of his.

That’s an unworkable environment isn’t it? One guy wants to try and fix the mess and the other guy doesn’t want help to fix the mess he hasn’t been able to fix all year. Let’s all pull together boys! Or don’t, I guess.

 

[oobga]

And yet now that they're healthy they're even worse.

The players have definitely quit on this season. They all knew it was over part way into that 5-0 loss to Winnipeg. Pride kicked in against the Ducks, but that was it. Next stage is the "nothing to lose" frame of mind. And I doubt they are all healthy. Larsson likely has a back injury, Klef shoulder and Sek probably played too much too quickly. They should start shutting guys down in a few weeks when the season is for real over, especially Klef if he needs surgery. I hope they didn't convince him to not get properly fixed last summer because Sek was already out.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

The players have definitely quit on this season. They all knew it was over part way into that 5-0 loss to Winnipeg. Pride kicked in against the Ducks, but that was it. Next stage is the "nothing to lose" frame of mind. And I doubt they are all healthy. Larsson likely has a back injury, Klef shoulder and Sek probably played too much too quickly. They should start shutting guys down in a few weeks when the season is for real over, especially Klef if he needs surgery. I hope they didn't convince him to not get properly fixed last summer because Sek was already out.

I'm sure there are a lot of guys hurting. If they're hurt shut them down. Team isn't going anywhere.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Player usage is on the coach. Pulju should obviously be a focus on the PP, but he isn't.

And Khaira has very easily replaced the Pouliot of last season. He gets in on the forecheck and he's statistically the team's best PKing forward.

Isn't it a little early to be saying that Khaira is the teams best pk forward? Man, a couple weeks ago I checked and he had around 40secs/game pk duty. Now suddenly I'm made to believe he's up to 1:20/game? Twice as Much? Sometimes I think theres a lot of inaccuracy in the stats as tabulated. Really I'm not sure how anybody on this team would be 5GA/60mins/pk. Seems unlikely.

 

[Drivesaitl]

It's not like Pouliot has really made much of a difference playing in Buffalo, last year was pretty representative of what he is now. How can you accurately say that all our players will never improve, saying this is the best we can expect from Kharia/Strome is pretty cynical and silly

First of all why is it silly to say we're not getting anymore from Strome when he's been a bust for several years. He's absolutely f***ing useless. That's me being kind..

Khaira, I dunno man. Has games once in awhile where you think he's got some chops and then can play 5 games in a row that just leave you cold.

But its the fact of the matter that nobody is going to replace Eberles career type goal scoring and production. Not even close to it. Using a specious sample of how he performed in an arbitrary timeframe last year is silly.

Obviously the team would be better off this season if it had retained all of Eberle, Pouliot, Pitlick, even Desharnais. Frankly I would have got rid of Letestu. He's nearing the end, now its too late, we're stuck with him.

 

[Mcwinner]

There was no way that Chia could have predicted that all of the team outside of RNH and nurse would have regressed like this. I agree that there shouldn’t be any firings this year. I know I’m in the minority with this statement. Sorry just my take. The draft lottery will at least be exciting.

 

[Drivesaitl]

There was no way that Chia could have predicted that all of the team outside of RNH and nurse would have regressed like this. I agree that there shouldn’t be any firings this year. I know I’m in the minority with this statement. Sorry just my take. The draft lottery will at least be exciting.

Any GM that does not know that the NHL is ALWAYS HARDER the first season after you have found some modicum of success is damned silly.

The Oilers, with McD, Talbot, Drai, got on teams radar last season. We made a lot of teams look silly. Actually we pissed off a lot of opponents who were determined to come back and play us harder this season. The Oilers, who should never have been considered SC favorites this season with this lineup, we're unfortunately pegged that by a lot of oddsmakers which unfortunately meant we were in everybodies radar. Virtually every team in the league took us lightly last season because the Oilers were perennial jokes. Game after game last season I noted less than stellar opponent efforts by teams that were kind of surprised we could suddenly prevent GA and had goaltending. There are no surprises this season and more opponents are just grinding us down.

Look even at the last few games. Theres no way Dallas ever played us this well last season. They looked like jokes in a couple of the games. This year they are more determined. Same with LA, they were determined to come back and spank us this year. Same with Chicago. Teams took our number. Chia knew this would occur because its what does occur in the NHL. Teams correct, study film, get better. Except the Oilers don't get better, we have a worse lineup and worse play this year.

This has been a welcome to the NHL type season. Its a bit late arriving. Had the Oilers been a competent team the first year McD arrived he ad company would have had this welcome much earlier.

 

[Mcwinner]

Any GM that does not know that the NHL is ALWAYS HARDER the first season after you have found some modicum of success is damned silly.

The Oilers, with McD, Talbot, Drai, got on teams radar last season. We made a lot of teams look silly. Actually we pissed off a lot of opponents who were determined to come back and play us harder this season. The Oilers, who should never have been considered SC favorites this season with this lineup, we're unfortunately pegged that by a lot of oddsmakers which unfortunately meant we were in everybodies radar. Virtually every team in the league took us lightly last season because the Oilers were perennial jokes. Game after game last season I noted less than stellar opponent efforts by teams that were kind of surprised we could suddenly prevent GA and had goaltending. There are no surprises this season and more opponents are just grinding us down.

Look even at the last few games. Theres no way Dallas ever played us this well last season. They looked like jokes in a couple of the games. This year they are more determined. Same with LA, they were determined to come back and spank us this year. Same with Chicago. Teams took our number. Chia knew this would occur because its what does occur in the NHL. Teams correct, study film, get better. Except the Oilers don't get better, we have a worse lineup and worse play this year.

The WHOLE team regressed. Chia doesn’t have a crystal ball and I would have told him but mine is in the shop. The three players you listed have not played as well as last year. I agree with you that teams would know to take us serious this year. But everyone including the Toronto media expected us to go far.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

The WHOLE team regressed. Chia doesn’t have a crystal ball and I would have told him but mine is in the shop. The three players you listed have not played as well as last year. I agree with you that teams would know to take us serious this year. But everyone including the Toronto media expected us to go far.

The team bought into its own hype and the GM didn't think to send the team any help as a result.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The WHOLE team regressed. Chia doesn’t have a crystal ball and I would have told him but mine is in the shop. The three players you listed have not played as well as last year. I agree with you that teams would know to take us serious this year. But everyone including the Toronto media expected us to go far.

Two teams are on the ice in every game played. Almost all the teams we play got better, because that's what pro teams do, invariably, they plan to improve their lineup which is necessary because every year age catches up to some players. This year its Letestu, next year probably Sekera, 2 years its Lucic. Competitive clubs realize pro lifespans are short and that you have to improve lineup cards constantly, every year, really just to stay in one space.

 

[Porkleaker]

If we start next season with Chia, Woodcroft and Todd and nothing but downgrades to the roster (ineveitable) then there's really no point in even watching. Are they trying to fail?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Two teams are on the ice in every game played. Almost all the teams we play got better, because that's what pro teams do, invariably, they plan to improve their lineup which is necessary because every year age catches up to some players. This year its Letestu, next year probably Sekera, 2 years its Lucic. Competitive clubs realize pro lifespans are short and that you have to improve lineup cards constantly, every year, really just to stay in one space.

Good teams bank on internal development...but also find outside help to assist that. We just made the team roster worse on paper and just hopes everyone is better. That's not how good teams go into a season

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Two teams are on the ice in every game played. Almost all the teams we play got better, because that's what pro teams do, invariably, they plan to improve their lineup which is necessary because every year age catches up to some players. This year its Letestu, next year probably Sekera, 2 years its Lucic. Competitive clubs realize pro lifespans are short and that you have to improve lineup cards constantly, every year, really just to stay in one space.

The sad thing is that a number of us said as much back in July that not improving the team was a mistake and this was the year to really go for it.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Good teams bank on internal development...but also find outside help to assist that. We just made the team roster worse on paper and just hopes everyone is better. That's not how good teams go into a season

The last Oiler they developed properly was shipped out of town to a organization with a similar inability to develop players....

 

[Ritchie Valens]

That’s an unworkable environment isn’t it? One guy wants to try and fix the mess and the other guy doesn’t want help to fix the mess he hasn’t been able to fix all year. Let’s all pull together boys! Or don’t, I guess.

I guess it would only be unworkable in how the context of this hypothetical conversation went that I am speculating occurred-lol. All we know is Chiarelli entertained bringing someone in and didn't. That said, he wouldn't be saying this publicly without Mcellan having any knowledge a PK/PP specialist was considered being brought on board. It would have been discussed with the entire coaching staff...so perhaps it is now an unworkable situation or perhaps they agreed on a certain date to have it fixed by and if not, they bring someone in. Who knows. All we know is we're stuck with Larry, Curly & Moe to fix this on their own for the foreseeable future.

 

[rboomercat90]

Yeah, MacT had a similar quote like a week before Eakins got canned.

Not that I think McLellan will be let go before the season is over, but I wouldn't read too much into this interview.

I think the difference hear is that Mactavish clearly meant what he said and was either forced to fire Eakins or somebody may have even done it for him.

I’m not saying Chiarelli isn’t being honest only that the decision to fire Mclellan is all his at this time. Two completely different situations.