After rumours swirled over a visit to Edmonton by former Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, the Oilers organization made it official - naming him as new General Manager and President of Hockey Operations for the team.
Chiarelli will take over the roles effective immediately, replacing Craig MacTavish who took the role of GM in 2013 and Kevin Lowe who will transition out of hockey operations, but maintain his role as vice chair of the Oilers Entertainment Group.
Speculation grew through social media overnight – as rumours of a personnel staffing update Friday morning within the Edmonton Oilers organization grew.
Chiarelli was fired by the Bruins at the end of the regular season, after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years – on Friday he said he was looking forward to working with the Oilers.
“A week and a half ago I got bad news,” Chiarelli said. “Today, I got terrific news, so I’m really excited to be part of this organization.”
He became GM of the Bruins in 2006, after working as assistant GM for the Ottawa Senators – the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Meanwhile, the team would not confirm what MacTavish's role will be with the organization.
“I talked to him yesterday and today,” Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson said. “Peter will look forward to talking to him in the next couple days.”
On the business operation side, the Oilers also announced that Patrick LaForge had stepped down as President and COO.
Laforge has a storied past with the team, including developing the first Heritage Classic outdoor regular season game. He also guided the creation of the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
Now, Chiarelli has his sights set on improving the Oilers – he said the team has ‘good pieces’, but he has work to do.
“In this business, you can’t be afraid to make trades,” Chiarelli said.
“There’s really nothing magical about it, there’s nothing magical about me. It’s about hard work; it’s about connecting and communicating. That’s what I plan to do.”
With files from Dan Grummett and TSN
