This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
Mikko Koskinen – the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Well, actually it was his three-year, $4.5 million per year contract with a partial no-move that did it.
Good riddance, Peter Chiarelli. But it's not all his fault.
Why was Chiarelli allowed to anoint a 30-year goalie with 32 NHL games experience as the Oilers' goalie of the future? Especially one whose game has been swirling the bowl since mid-December with a 3-8 record and .880 save percentage.
Bob Nicholson joined the Oilers in June 2014. He ascended to the top of the food chain in April 2015. He hired Peter Chiarelli at the end of that month.
The buck stops with Nicholson. And with Daryl Katz.
Chiarelli is a smart guy. As Brian Burke said this week: "He didn't become terminally stupid overnight." But his track record as a general manager needed daily doses of Pepto-Bismol.
His history with the Bruins was fairly neutral, until you see the names Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin. Both left Boston at Chiarelli's hand.
But enter Edmonton and a long leash … with no choke chain. Taylor Hall. Two draft picks – one of which became Mathew Barzal – to get Griffin Reinhart. Jordan Eberle. And then there's the Leon Draisaitl contract in 2017 that tilted the marketplace for the entire league.
William Nylander thanks you, Peter. He really does.
Chiarelli took an exciting team that made the playoffs and turned them into a big, heavy, slow team,