The Oilers continued their front-office makeover on Friday, naming former Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli President of Hockey Operations & GM. Meanwhile, Oilers Entertainment Group President & COO Patrick LaForge has stepped down. Former Oilers President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe becomes OEG Vice Chair, while former Oilers GM Craig MacTavish will have a role with the club that is yet to be defined (Oilers). The AP noted the shakeup comes after OEG last week named Bob Nicholson CEO and gave him "authority over all aspects of business and hockey operations." Chiarelli will "report to Nicholson and be responsible for all aspects of hockey operations." LaForge joined the organization in '00 and was "responsible for growing the sports and entertainment portfolio of OEG." Nicholson said that Chiarelli "likely will speak with MacTavish in the coming days" about his role (AP, 4/24). In Edmonton, John MacKinnon wrote Nicholson has "remade the club's senior leadership" in "swift, stunning fashion." Coupled with the "rapid progress" of the team's new downtown arena and winning the NHL Draft lottery, the changes "provide a major jolt of optimism for a fan base that has been bereft of palpable hope for years" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 4/25). Nicholson said, "There are going to be a lot of other announcements as we go forward within OEG, a lot on the business side, and I know everyone's looking forward to that" (EDMONTON SUN, 4/25).
SPRING CLEANING: In Edmonton, Joanne Ireland wrote the moves signal a "significant shift for the beleaguered Oilers." Nicholson: "We have to get this organization in the winning mode." He added, "I think with some of these announcements that have happened in the last few days, we're going to attract the best people in the game." Chiarelli "wanted some degree of autonomy if he was going to take the job." Meanwhile, Ireland noted there are "other managers whose fates also have to be determined," including Senior VP/Hockey Operations Scott Howson, Assistant GM Bill Scott and Dir of Player Personnel Bob Green (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 4/26). ESPN.com's Scott Burnside wrote Friday "might just stand as one of the most important days in Oilers history," and Chiarelli's appointment "marks a seminal moment." Oilers Owner Daryl Katz has "taken a giant step toward fixing the mess he is in large part responsible for allowing the team to become" (ESPN.com, 4/25).
ON THE RIGHT TRACK: In Edmonton, Terry Jones wrote the hiring of Chiarelli and Nicholson delivers a "message to the entire hockey world it’s finally the start of a brand new era of Oilers hockey." The "main message of course is not only have the Oilers lucked out" in winning the lottery, but they now are "able to assemble the best people available." Fans can accuse Katz of "not doing that before, as he lived the dream of recreating the Stanley Cup eras with members of that glory gang." But it "might be time to stop and give some credit for the much-maligned owner" (EDMONTON SUN, 4/24). The GLOBE & MAIL's Eric Duhatschek wrote to make "no mistake about it" that the "massive house cleaning undertaken by the Oilers on Friday had Katz’s stamp all over it" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/25). In Edmonton, Derek Van Diest wrote although it took seven years, Katz "finally realized his hockey team needed to be run as a business, not a plaything for he and his friends from the glory years" (EDMONTON SUN, 4/25). Also in Edmonton, Rob Tychkowski wrote, "I honestly never thought I would see the day that the Edmonton Oilers were operated like a professional sports franchise again. I never thought, with Daryl Katz at the helm of this once-proud organization, that the normal tenets of sports would ever apply here." The Oilers for seven years under Katz have been "a disgrace" and became the "worst franchise in North American professional sports" (EDMONTON SUN, 4/25).
