Boston Bruins @NHLBruins 47s47 seconds ago
Boston Bruins relieve Peter Chiarelli of General Manager duties. Read full release: http://bbru.in/1HsJlLR ^BB
Boston Bruins @NHLBruins 47s47 seconds ago
Boston Bruins relieve Peter Chiarelli of General Manager duties. Read full release: http://bbru.in/1HsJlLR ^BB
Boston, MA - Boston Bruins President Cam Neely announced today, Wednesday, April 15, that Peter Chiarelli has been relieved of his duties as General Manager of the Boston Bruins. An Interim General Manager will not be named at this time and the search for a new hire - which will be led by Bruins Chief Executive Officer Charlie Jacobs and Neely - will begin immediately. The Bruins current Assistant General Managers, Player Personnel Staff and Coaching Staff will remain in place at this time.
Jacobs and Neely will hold a press conference today at 3:00 p.m. ET in the Will McDonough Room at TD Garden.
"We are grateful for Peter's service to the Bruins organization over the last nine seasons," said Neely. "His efforts undoubtedly helped the team achieve great success during his tenure and he helped restore the proud tradition of Boston Bruins hockey. We ultimately feel that this change is necessary in order to ensure sustainable success for the club both in the short term and the long term. Our search for a new General Manager will begin immediately."
Chiarelli served as General Manager for nine seasons, after being named the seventh GM in club history on May 26, 2006.
Chiarelli's overall regular season record as the team's General Manager stands at 386-233-85, with his teams topping the 100-point plateau on four occasions and qualifying for the playoffs seven straight years from 2008-2014. His regular season record includes the third and fourth best seasons in club history with a 116-point campaign in 2008-09 (earning him The Sporting News NHL Executive of the Year honors) and the 2013-14 season's 117-point mark with the 54 wins, tying for the second-most single season victories in club annals.
Chiarelli earned a Stanley Cup Championship in 2011, a President's Trophy in 2013-14 and a Cup Final appearance in 2013.
He also served as an Assistant General Manager and won a Gold Medal for Team Canada during the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
TheStoryofYourRedRightAnkle said:I would have liked to give him a year to fix the situation. When you read that resume at the end of the quotation, you can see why. 9 years, 4 100-plus point seasons, a President's Trophy and a Stanley Cup.
Leaving the coaching staff in place is foolish unless they are giving the new GM the opportunity to review and replace.
TheStoryofYourRedRightAnkle said:I would have liked to give him a year to fix the situation. When you read that resume at the end of the quotation, you can see why. 9 years, 4 100-plus point seasons, a President's Trophy and a Stanley Cup.
Leaving the coaching staff in place is foolish unless they are giving the new GM the opportunity to review and replace.
Do you really think that they would allow Behind the B to show front office dissension? It's a team produced show on the network that they own 20% of. Of course they were going to make it seem like everyone was on the same page with every key decision.burstnbloom said:This screams to me like a promotion for Don Sweeney. It feels like a PR move if that is the case. Behind the B makes it pretty clear that the front office has been in lock step from a decision making process, so promoting an insider does nothing to fix any of the issues.
I don't like it. Chia is going to get the Leafs job now.
https://twitter.com/mikecolenesn/status/588357532776824832burstnbloom said:This screams to me like a promotion for Don Sweeney. It feels like a PR move if that is the case. Behind the B makes it pretty clear that the front office has been in lock step from a decision making process, so promoting an insider does nothing to fix any of the issues.
I don't like it. Chia is going to get the Leafs job now.
RedOctober3829 said:This could blow up right in their faces. Who is going to come in and vastly improve things?
I like the move, I think Chia thinks he needs to sign people just for the sake of signing people sometimes. Either because he gets emotional over playoff success (Kelly, Krejci), or because he thinks he's signing someone below market (I guess Smith).
soxhop411 said:@DarrenDreger: According to a source, Ray Shero once turned down an offer to manage the Bruins. Wonder if Boston is still interested?
Kull said:If the plan is to change the organizational philosophy (i.e. more speed/skill and less dump/chase), then this makes sense. But if the plan is to keep doing the same old same old, then Chia/Clause can do that as well or better than anybody else out there.
Salem's Lot said:Do you really think that they would allow Behind the B to show front office dissension? It's a team produced show on the network that they own 20% of. Of course they were going to make it seem like everyone was on the same page with every key decision.
I really don't think Julien is opposed to speed and skill. He created a system that works not only for him, but also for the players he had. He gave Kessel regular shifts on the first line with Marc Savard back in 2007-08 when they led the Eastern Conference in scoring.Ed Hillel said:
Yeah, you kind of wonder why they would keep Claude. I'm wondering if the NHL is beginning to pass Claude by with its shift towards speed and skill. Kind of like how we used to discuss Brandon Spikes was a 1980's all pro.
jsinger121 said:When you saddle the roster with too many average players making too much money while handing out no movement clauses like a drunken sailor this ends up your fate.
The Behind the B discussions are heavily edited, and were done so after the trade. I seem to recall that one of the staff was particularly vocal about Seguin not being a fit (I can't recall if that was Sweeney or someone else altogether). Neely did bring up some of the past disciplinary history with Seguin as a factor, but also seemed to be leaving the ultimate decision to Chiarelli. And it was Chiarelli that was responsible for finding the matching trade partner and players.burstnbloom said:
No, but it was pretty clear that everyone in the room, including Neely and Sweeney were all for trading Seguin. That was my point. I feel like that is why the masses wanted Chia's head and this feels like caving to that pressure. If that is the case, that's pretty weak because both of those guys were on board and we have the proof.
The chicken-and-egg question: Do they play "this way" because, for example, they only have 2 defensemen (Krug and Hamilton) who can really rush the puck; or do they only have 2 defensemen who can rush the puck because they play this way?lexrageorge said:I really don't think Julien is opposed to speed and skill. He created a system that works not only for him, but also for the players he had. He gave Kessel regular shifts on the first line with Marc Savard back in the day.
If "it is what it is", then why make a move at all? They overhauled the scouting department and it's started to pay dividends. That's how you supplement a roster of players with big contracts. They absolutely could contend next year with some better luck in the injury department. If Krejci and Chara are healthy, they would be one of the better teams in the East.Ed Hillel said:
Who could? It's not like Chia has left a lot of flexibility here. Seidenberg and Chara are going to take up 15% of the cap, and they're both probably cooked. That's the big problem, and I'm not seeing how that's going away. The team is probably not going to contend seriously unless they have a miracle draft or two with those two bogging the team down. We can debate the merits of the extensions and the injuries, but it is what it is.
I like the move, I think Chia thinks he needs to sign people just for the sake of signing people sometimes. Either because he gets emotional over playoff success (Kelly, Krejci), or because he thinks he's signing someone below market (I guess Smith). I don't think he's a bad GM, but I'm good with some fresh blood. It doesn't help that he hasn't done so well with the draft recently, and that the Seguin trade was a massive loss, whether that's Claude's fault or not.
But he sent down Spooner instead of promoting him to the 1A/1B line with Lucic and Pastrnek.lexrageorge said:I really don't think Julien is opposed to speed and skill. He created a system that works not only for him, but also for the players he had. He gave Kessel regular shifts on the first line with Marc Savard back in the day.
If they hire Shero do their lottery odds go up?soxhop411 said:@AmalieBenjamin: Don Sweeney and Ray Shero likely the top two candidates to replace Chiarelli. Depends on whether they want to stay internal.
If Claude gets fired, he'll end up taking over a roster of highly skilled players and lead them to the Stanley Cup in a few years, which will guarantee that those arguments will continue on here for at least another decade.Toe Nash said:I'm hoping Claude gets fired too so I don't have to read the same arguments about whether or not he likes youth / skill / speed for the umpteenth time
lexrageorge said:The Behind the B discussions are heavily edited, and were done so after the trade. I seem to recall that one of the staff was particularly vocal about Seguin not being a fit (I can't recall if that was Sweeney or someone else altogether). Neely did bring up some of the past disciplinary history with Seguin as a factor, but also seemed to be leaving the ultimate decision to Chiarelli. And it was Chiarelli that was responsible for finding the matching trade partner and players.
burstnbloom said:
I still feel like you guys are belaboring the point. The point is that Chia has not been acting alone. It's not like hes running around saying "I'll do what I want, screw you guys!" Promoting from within doesn't fix the organizational issues.
I agree with all of this. Looking at his tenure as a whole, he did WAY more good than bad, and easily outperformed his predecessors. He made some downright brilliant moves (Chara, Seidenberg, Savard, Rask, Dougie, I could keep going), and they won a Cup largely because of those moves.TheRealness said:I am lukewarm on it. I think Chiarelli was the primary source of their roster woes this season. He signed too many NMCs to marginal players, and bungled the handling of Boychuk. This put him at the edge of the salary cap, and limited what he could do to add talent to the roster. If the rumor is true that he offered Spooner and a 2nd for Stewart (who I think sucks), then I think his player evaluation skills have also significantly diminished.
I also think Claude's desire to play the Campbells and Kellys of the world contributed to this problem, but by and large injuries were a major reason for this season's derailment.
I suspect there is also more to this than we know now, and that I expect to learn more about this going forward.