Peter Chiarelli could be back in the saddle and managing an NHL front office. The former Edmonton Oilers general manager is reportedly on the radar for a GM role after several years out of the spotlight.
New reports are that he’s leaving the St. Louis Blues as changes are made with their management group. He is now a candidate for the Nashville Predators GM job, per Darren Dreger.
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Dreger wrote:
“The @StLouisBlues front office is changing with Kevin Maxwell and Peter Chiarelli leaving the club to pursue other opportunities. Chiarelli is a candidate in Nashville’s interview process and Maxwell is expected to return to the New York Rangers in a management role.”
Chiarelli’s Time in Edmonton Was Polarizing
Chiarelli’s time in Edmonton didn’t end well. He was let go in 2019 after four rocky seasons, remembered largely for a string of questionable moves—most notably trading away Taylor Hall, who went on to win the Hart Trophy, and dealing Jordan Eberle, along with parting with high draft capital in the Griffin Reinhart deal. He traded Ryan Strome for Ryan Spooner, then acquired Brandon Manning, after Manning took out Connor McDavid and broke his collar bone.
Peter Chiarelli to GM again in the NHL? Photo by: © Dan Hamilton Imagn Images
Many fans might not even have realized that Chiarelli had been working behind the scenes with the St. Louis Blues, first as a consultant and later as Vice President of Hockey Operations. But, as GM Doug Armstrong moves on and other changes are being made, Chiarelli is exploring his options, including throwing his hat into the mix for the Nashville Predators GM job, with Barry Trotz stepping aside.
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It’s a fascinating development. Chiarelli played a major part in building the Boston Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, but his reputation took a hit in Edmonton.
Whether he gets another chance to run a team remains to be seen—but he’s clearly back in the conversation.
Pierre LeBrun reported, “My sense of the Preds’ executive search is that they are not feeling rushed by any deadline, they’ve cast a wide net (spoken to 15 or so people) and it’ll take as long as it needs to take until they make the hire(s) they feel are right. So if outgoing GM Barry Trotz needs to run the June draft, so be it. But obviously a hire could happen before then.”
In other words, Chiarelli isn’t a shoo in. This decision could take some time.
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