Edmonton Oilers

[Axeman33]

He's made some smart moves and some head scratchers. Most GMs are like that. We've been here and done this before.

[lobo1969]

Barzal wouldn't have become the player he is right now if he were drafted by the Oilers. I can't see him doing any better than Puljujarvi is right now in that environment.

So what? Barzal is probably not the 80pt+ player he is looking like in NYI, he will come down to earth a bit. I'd still take him and the 2nd rounder over Reinhart who clearly didn't have NHL speed to make it when that trade was made.

[als_revenge]

So what? Barzal is probably not the 80pt+ player he is looking like in NYI, he will come down to earth a bit. I'd still take him and the 2nd rounder over Reinhart who clearly didn't have NHL speed to make it when that trade was made.

Yeah, not so difficult in retrospect....

[Ingolo]

If you need advanced stats to explain why a team is good, chances are - they aren't very good.

Pretty sure the advanced stats were being used to demonstrate that they've been unlucky, which i agree with. It might not be all of their problem, but an Oilers' team with luck based metrics at the league average would be close to, if not in, the playoff hunt. Watching them play tells me it's more than bad luck; but it seems to be either a coaching issue, or just a reception issue to that coaching. A team's powerplay doesn't tank nearly as hard as Edmonton's has from the last couple seasons to this one, and maybe that's a sign of what's going wrong.

Overall, can't see what their overall problem is, but to say that looking deeper is a stretch to call them "good," when they have some of the most talented players in the league, and have a track record of having done better over the last two seasons, is a little bit of an over-reach. This is a team that needs a small shift in how they're doing things/deploying players, not a "bad" team.

[Ingolo]

Agreed. To question whether he has made even a single good move is something either the stupid or the trolls ask. To question if he is a good or bad GM is obviously a much bigger conversation, and it's certainly looking more like the latter this season.

The most concerning thing for me has always been that Jacobs thought Sweeney was a better option for the Bruins, and he doesn't strike me as an unintelligent man. Considering how bad Sweeney's moves in Boston were off the hop, that's saying something about the lack of confidence they had in PC.

[hockeymanG23]

So what? Barzal is probably not the 80pt+ player he is looking like in NYI, he will come down to earth a bit. I'd still take him and the 2nd rounder over Reinhart who clearly didn't have NHL speed to make it when that trade was made.

Absolutely. And even if they didn’t pick Barzal specifically at that point there was also Conner, Chabot, JEE, Samsonov, Boeser, Konecny, Aho, etc that they could’ve selected.

Even if they hit duds on both picks it would’ve been better to not trade for a player who really looked at the time like a bust himself.

PC has made good trades and selections at points in time for sure but his overall body of work leaves a lot to be desired. And no, he can’t really get credit for drafting McDavid, a potatoe wouldn’t screw that up.

[agentzero]

a potatoe wouldn’t screw that up.

Unless the potato was under contract to work in the Oilers's front office... then, I could see it...

[blayze]

So what exactly are these "good moves" he has made? Everyone keeps alluding to these good moves - so what are they exactly?

Bad moves:
-Hall for Larsson
-Eberle for Strome
-Dealt away picks which could have been Eriksson-Ek or Barzal for Reinhart who played all of 29 games
-Dealt away Schultz - who carried the Pens blue line in the playoffs to the cup - for a bag of pucks
-Signed old man Lucic to a long term contract

Good:
-Signed Caggiula
-Picked up Talbot

Is that the gist of it?

[Shift Disturber]

So what exactly are these "good moves" he has made? Everyone keeps alluding to these good moves - so what are they exactly?

Bad moves:
-Hall for Larsson
-Eberle for Strome
-Dealt away picks which could have been Eriksson-Ek or Barzal for Reinhart who played all of 29 games
-Dealt away Schultz - who carried the Pens blue line in the playoffs to the cup - for a bag of pucks
-Signed old man Lucic to a long term contract

Good:
-Signed Caggiula
-Picked up Talbot

Is that the gist of it?

That pretty well sums it up. I sincerely feel bad for Oiler fans, much like when Sutter, Feaster, or farther back, Risebrough, were GMs in Calgary. It's unnerving because you don't know what stupid move is coming next and you can't trust him to prudently guide the team.

[blayze]

Looks like you answered your own question as to whether Chiarelli has made any good moves.

I'm sorry you can't take away the tone of a message and instead have to read every word literally duolos. Sarcasm must be very difficult for you to process...

[Axeman33]

So what exactly are these "good moves" he has made? Everyone keeps alluding to these good moves - so what are they exactly?

Bad moves:
-Hall for Larsson
-Eberle for Strome
-Dealt away picks which could have been Eriksson-Ek or Barzal for Reinhart who played all of 29 games
-Dealt away Schultz - who carried the Pens blue line in the playoffs to the cup - for a bag of pucks
-Signed old man Lucic to a long term contract

Good:
-Signed Caggiula
-Picked up Talbot

Is that the gist of it?

I still don't think the Hall trade was as bad as many think. The Oilers needed a top 4 Dman desperately and Larsson is a solid young defender who's locked up long term to an affordable contract. The Oilers were playing being held for a kings ransom for a D and were dealing from a point of weakness so they weren't going to win any trade for a D there. I hated the trade when it was first announced because Hall was my favorite Oiler at the time but after settling down and looking at it objectively, I still think they still made out pretty well IMO.

I also don't consider losing Schultz a bad move all things considered. He was terrible for the Oilers and was coming due for a new contract. There was no way he was turning it around in Edmonton. I am happy to see him turn it around in Pittsburgh but he could have easily stayed on the same path and struggles he was going through in Edmonton.

One other move I really liked for Edmonton that he has made was when he dealt for Patrick Maroon. Matt Benning has turned out to be a solid college signing as well.

[Jouko-Pouko]

I remember how a year ago we were dissecting those same Chiarelli moves and a lot of people considered them brilliant at the time because the Oilers were playing well. Results are not always everything. His moves weren't as good as they looked a year ago, and they're not as bad as they look right now.

[agentzero]

Lucic and Reinhart moves have to be considered mistakes. They paid a pretty steep price for Reinhart who until that point had shown absolutely nothing at the pro level.

Talbot looked like a brilliant, brilliant move last year. It probably still was.

Hall for Larsson will be argued forever. Until the latter peaks, we won't know and he hasn't peaked yet. Right now the move looks average at best, though.

Eberle trade was bad but they needed cap space. The rough part is that they got the never-was Ryan Strome back.. I wonder what other returns there were around the league... maybe none, who knows.

[donions]

Barzal wouldn't have become the player he is right now if he were drafted by the Oilers. I can't see him doing any better than Puljujarvi is right now in that environment.

I dont get this narrative at all but it persists every time a young player is linked to Edm.
Which players have the Oilers "not developed"? Yakupov? Who could have done better with him?
Hall? great player.
Eberle? good player.
RNH? same
S.Gagner? nice little career
Cogliano? good career
Leon? great player
Nurse? developing very well
Klefbom? developed into a solid top 4 dman
Pulj? still just 19, shows flashes
Thats been the Oilers only saving grace is 1st round draft picks. Its everything after the 1st round that has buried us.

But every single time a young player is linked to the Oilers there's a contingent of people who say the Oilers would have ruined him. Its not based in reality just plain hatred for a team and makes for a very lame discussion.

And besides all that, its known Barzal wasnt on the Oilers radar with that 1st rnd pick, they wanted Eriksson Ek. Smart scouting? No, but imagining that trade not happening and him being an Oiler is a waste.

[Ingolo]

I remember how a year ago we were dissecting those same Chiarelli moves and a lot of people considered them brilliant at the time because the Oilers were playing well. Results are not always everything. His moves weren't as good as they looked a year ago, and they're not as bad as they look right now.

This is what I'm starting to feel. Recency bias is easy enough to fall for. The reality is likely in between.

The Schultz deal I'd actually call good asset management though; he wasn't working in their system, odds are he wasn't getting re-signed, seeing how he was non-tendered prior to the season. Better to get something than nothing at all.