Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson Hints at Dressing Room Problems and Other Interesting Quotes From Yesterday

We all probably have seen, heard, or read about Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson’s press conference today announcing the dismissal of Peter Chiarelli and I thought that it was pretty standard but there were two comments near the end of that initial media avail that I thought stood out.

"We're not talking to Ken on any other positions until the end of the year"

Another interesting quote from Bob Nicholson's presser.

Any other positions? Does that mean coach? Consultant? GM? POHO?

— 𝑩𝑳𝑯 (@BeerLeagueHeroe) January 24, 2019

I was really, not shocked/surprised, that Nicholson would say this but really intrigued with how this sentence came out.

I have been told that Ken Hitchcock has a deal on the table for a 2-3 year extension and all he has to do is sign it. What I haven’t been told is what position that is for. I can only assume it’s for the coaching position but with how much he’s contributing to the direction of the team’s playing personnel decisions right now, it wouldn’t shock me if President of Hockey Operations was a title he took up in the future.

And that dovetails nicely into this quote with regards to what kind of GM Bob Nicholson will be looking for,

"Who can be the best general manager for the players of today?"

THAT is an interesting quote from Bob Nicholson's presser…

Should give you some insight into how the #Oilers will be going about finding their next GM.

— 𝑩𝑳𝑯 (@BeerLeagueHeroe) January 24, 2019

This tells me that Nicholson has clearly made a mistake with Chiarelli and that he wants a general manager that can work with this new generation of hockey player. The “I” generation as Hitchcock calls them. Basically, young folk now need to know what’s in it for them and why that’s a good thing for everybody and they need it ASAP.

Chiarelli rarely made himself available to media or the team and from my gathering was tough to work with. I’m sure you could tell when he did his press conferences or media avails with how he carried himself during them.

So that’s going to change now. The Oilers will do an extensive search for the right man for once and I’m jacked about it and I’ll support the new guy just as I supported Peter Chiarelli during his time.

The Other Media Avails

Our favorite media man Gene Principe did a short 5-minute interview with Nicholson after the original avail and there were a couple of things he said there as well that I thought really shed some light on the current situation in the Oilers dressing room and a bit more on what kind of GM he’ll be looking for to replace Chiarelli.

You can’t define it in a couple of words or a sentence but I want to make sure that the general manager really can evaluate the players.

If this isn’t a shot at Chiarelli, I’m not sure what is. It’s a fair comment to make too. Look, I spent a lot of time defending Chiarelli’s moves and I won’t take anything back either. He made some dodgy deals that I’ve questioned very publicly too. The Reinhart deal was one and the Spooner deal was another.

I know I’ve been told in the past that the pro scouts that everybody wants fired did their job and would make their recommendations but in fact, and I’ve mentioned this before, Chiarelli would go ahead and make the decisions on player personnel individually despite the reports given.

I think we have really good assets but I think that’s the key and I really want to have open communication. I want all lines of communication to be open in this organization and make sure that’s done within the dressing room so the players feel comfortable speaking to all the staff. 

This goes back to what I said before. Chiarelli wasn’t a good communicator, be that with his co-workers, his playing staff, or the media. Nicholson is basically spelling it out here regarding how tense it was to work in the organization with Chia at the helm.

We gotta have a lot of other leaders and we have a good leadership group but we’ve got to make sure everyone in that room leads and we can’t have any passengers and right now I feel we have passengers and we have to sort that out.

This is the money shot in my opinion. I’ve touched on the locker room status briefly previously when I talked about Leon Draisaitl and his preference to play on Connor’s wing. Now, I’m not saying Leon is a passenger because he’s not. He’s clearly a driver on the ice.

Nicholson did another interview with TSN’s Ryan Rishaug after his presser as well and there he reiterated the dressing room problem,

We need everyone in the room on the same page. I’m not convinced, at this time, that everyone is on the same page. We need character in that room, we need to make sure everyone believes and has each other’s backs as we go forward here for the rest of the season. 

Bobby Nick is telling us that there are players in that dressing room that do not believe this team can make the playoffs. Recently, Connor McDavid, more or less, stated that if you’re not with us, then get the hell out of our dressing room!

What if that message wasn’t for the players? What if it was for the fans and the mainstream media covering the team? What if it was for Peter Chiarelli?

I can’t begin to speculate on who those players might be but it also doesn’t surprise me that there are elements of the team that have lost belief. I am willing to bet that before the deadline, the players that are identified as “not being on the same page” will be moved along, just as they were when Chiarelli was hired.

The State of the Fanbase

I talked to a friend of mine who’s followed the team since 1972 and he said to me that he was tired. Following the team is no fun right now.

Now, I don’t live in Edmonton, in fact, I live about as far away as one can get from the city and I understand that Alberta isn’t having a great time economically these days. Is it possible that all of this is compounding with the season the Oilers are having?

I feel for the fans who have stuck around but I have a hard time, and this is my own problem, seeing this situation as being as horrible as some are saying. There’s no threat of the team leaving. The people are still filling the stands. I remember a time when both of those things were a reality and now there’s a new arena, the team has probably the most prolific NHL player since Gretzky playing for it, and the future of the team is as bright as it’s ever been.

My friend said that he’s had a hard time even gifting tickets away… That’s insanity to me! I get that going to the game, finding parking, having dinner, etc. is hard but for me personally, I couldn’t care less about those inconveniences. If I had a son/daughter who was passionate about hockey and idolized the Oilers as I did when I was a boy, I’d do my damnedest to find a way to make things work. Just like my father did and we were by no means even an average income family.

That said, I value this gentleman’s words and I trust them very much. Times back home aren’t great.

He also said he’d talked to one of the players and was told,

Chiarelli absolutely had to be fired. It had to be immediate or there was the legitimate potential for very serious problems ahead.

I was left agasp. It had my mind wondering all sorts of ways. And so I asked if McDavid asking out was what he thought the player meant and the answer was, “I was not told that.”

So read into that what you will.