Former Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is in Edmonton and meeting with the Oilers Wednesday, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector and Elliotte Friedman have learned.
Since winning the NHL Draft Lottery Saturday night, and thus the right to select superstar prospect Connor McDavid No . 1 overall, change has been in the air in Edmonton.
Monday the organization appointed Bob Nicholson CEO of the Oilers, meaning any and all employees of the Edmonton front office now report into him — this includes general manager Craig MacTavish and president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe.
“The timeline for hockey ops,” Nicholson said at Monday’s press conference, “I would like to do it right away, but I won’t commit to that. I will do it when the timing is right. There are a lot of playoff games going on, so we won’t rush any decisions.”
The Bruins, currently without a general manager, fired Chiarelli on April 15 after the club failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The 50-year-old native of Nepean, Ont., left Boston with a record of 386-233-85. His teams surpassed the 100-point mark on four occasions and qualified for the playoffs seven straight years from 2008 through 2014, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 and returning to the final in 2013.
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Though former Bruins such as Tyler Seguin and Johnny Boychuk have enjoyed success since leaving Boston under his watch, Chiarelli is well-regarded for his management skills.
Chiarelli also served as an assistant general manager for Team Canada’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
Friedman also reported this week that the Oilers have been in contact with free-agent head coach Todd McLellan, who cut ties with the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
