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When the Boston Bruins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and just the sixth time since the spring of 1968, somebody had to take the fall, as essentially alluded to in an early January press conference by then-newly appointed CEO Charlie Jacobs. And on Wednesday, that somebody -- for better or worse -- was Boston’s general manager of nine years, Peter Chiarelli.
“It was a process, and it was iterative, and we had an ongoing dialogue, and we finally made the decision regarding Peter on Tuesday,… Jacobs said in a Wednesday press conference at TD Garden. “So it was yesterday, that we made this call. We met last night and then with Peter this morning.
“I’d rather stick to general terms and say that as I mentioned, it was a process of dialogue — many parties, including [Boston Bruins President] Cam [Neely] and myself,… Jacobs continued, “So when we realized that this is what we believe to be in the best interest of the club, we move forward.…
The decision to dump Chiarelli, a general manager that’s designed two Boston rosters that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final from 2011 to 2013, was a tough one for the B’s. But it was also one that the Boston braintrust felt was necessary given the potential for the Bruins to essentially crumble back into Boston Sports irrelevancy without a clear direction in place.
“It was really about, how do we improve our club moving forward? It’s a task — or, frankly, an audit — that we take every year after the season is over. This season happened to end a lot earlier than many for us, and we’ve been very fortunate in that regard,… Jacobs noted. “I think Peter had a very good tenure here when you think about the stretch of playoffs — one, trips to the playoffs, and two, success in the playoffs that he’s had. But it became time for, we believe, to separate and move forward.…
Even with the Black and Gold looking towards the future without Chiarelli, it’s impossible to forget what the franchise’s seventh general manager in team history did in less than a decade with the club.
From 2006 to 2015, the Bruins posted a 386-233-85 record under Chiarelli’s watch, along with four 100-point seasons, seven-straight playoff appearances, and a Presidents’ Trophy in 2013-14.
“I don’t want to take away anything that Peter accomplished here; I mean, he’s going to go down in history as the GM that brought the Stanley Cup to Boston for the first time in 39 years, so that says a lot about his abilities as a general manager,… Neely said. “We just felt — and it’s not just this particular year, not making the playoffs — moving forward, it was the best thing for us to do. It was not an easy decision to come to — a lot of conversations about it, but we felt that it was the best thing to do.…
Chiarelli made a whopping 63 trades in his nine years with the Black and Gold, but with his job on the line all year long, was limited in his trade deadline options, according to Neely.
“As we approached the trade deadline, I had a conversation with Peter to make sure that we were protecting as many assets as we could,… Neely admitted. “Believe me, Peter was very professional and he was going to do everything he could to help improve our club during the season.
“It was more about, for me, trading assets for rentals, which he understood.…
Neely also noted that the Bruins did not convene with Chiarelli to hear about his plans for breaking the Bruins out of this spell of sorts before deciding to let him go. (Wait, really?)
So, to recap: the Bruins snap a seven-year postseason streak. Part of the reason why that happened was that they didn’t really acquire anybody that could bolster their chances of making noise in the East. Why? Because it didn’t sound like the Bruins wanted to give Chiarelli that authority and run the risk of losing assets they viewed as valuable for a short-term, rental fix. And then, he’s kicked out the door before he can even tell his higher-ups his plans of getting the club back on track, something I think he’s been better than some would like to give him credit for (I point to the 2010 trade deadline through that summer as a prime example of Chiarelli maximizing his assets to return to contending form). Huh. While running the risk of sounding like a Chiarelli apologist here, I think it would have been helpful to hear his ideas -- if he had any -- before showing him the door after one bad season. But that’s just me.
Their unwillingness to even hear Chiarelli out, again- if he had ideas, says a lot about this decision and how they felt. There was pressure, and given the Bruins’ problems, Chiarelli was not part of the solution. They might not be wrong there, either. When you look at what ailed the Bruins in 2014-15, a lot of it comes back to mismanaging the salary cap. That made you walk away from re-signing top-liner and 30-goal scorer Jarome Iginla in the summertime, and later forced you to trade top-pairing defenseman Johnny Boychuk for two second-round picks just in order to ice a complete roster on opening night. Another problem? The B’s lack of true, bona fide prospects that the organization viewed as capable of stepping into the National Hockey League when injuries to key guys -- Chara, Krejci -- struck the club.
“In this salary cap era, especially when you’re up against the cap, you’re going to have to inject some entry-level players, and it’s our job as an organization to inject the type of players that we feel are going to, one, help us win championships, and two, have the type of character and style that we’re looking for,… said Neely. “Every team that’s up against the cap has to inject some entry-level players, and we’re no different. That’s an area where we have to be mindful of moving forward.
“As we went through training camp and saw we didn’t see a push from below that we expect of certain guys, so then it became a question of ‘we do have to get [salary] cap compliant’. How are we going to do that?’… continued Neely. “We were hoping, to be honest, that some of the younger kids were going to push a little harder or make a bigger impact at camp and that would give us some other options.…
Drafting was an obvious issue during Chiarelli’s tenure here, too. Undeniably so. In eight drafts under Chiarelli, the Bruins have pumped out just eight NHL talents that have played at least 40 games. And for what it’s worth, Dougie Hamilton, David Pastrnak, and Ryan Spooner are the only ones still in the Boston organization. (Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson, and scattered about forwards Joe Colborne, Tyler Seguin, Jordan Caron, and Craig Cunningham make up the other five.)
(The Bruins addressed that area on Wednesday as well, relieving amateur scouts Mike Chiarelli and Denis Leblanc, along with head European scout, Jukka Holtari, from their posts with the club.)
“We have to look at the organization as a whole obviously and today’s day and age with the game and the cap and a team that is fortunate enough to spend to the cap. As you have success and those players get better and you have to pay them more, you need those entry-level players to come in and be able to have an impact,… Neely said of the Bruins’ drafting and amateur scouting woes under Chiarelli. “It’s expensive to always get ready-made players. It’s a nice luxury to be able to have but when you don’t have the cap space to be able to do that, you’ve got to find entry-level players. I think there was a period of time there where—I don’t think I’m saying anything that hasn’t been chronicled—we missed on three or four years on some drafts that I think right now we’re kind of paying the price for. That’s not the sole reason but that’s an area where I think we can improve.…
Talking to some people yesterday, I got the idea that the Black and Gold just felt something needed to give here. A playoff push may not have been enough, either. It was clear that some of the team's executives (and Neely, no doubt) felt that the Bruins were shifting into an identity crisis, which is something that I think everybody saw this season. But others felt that the B's were bailing on Chiarelli a bit prematurely, as one league source told me that 'Chiarelli could have a job in this league tomorrow if he really wanted to'.
Even with Chiarelli gone, however, two major, major questions remain unanswered for the Bruins.
Firstly, who will be Chiarelli’s successor? The Bruins have some in-house options -- and all signs point towards assistant general manager Don Sweeney entering the mix as the early frontrunner -- but a name like Ray Shero has seemingly always intrigued the Jacobs’, dating back to the pre-Chiarelli era.
“I’m not a micromanager and I don’t want to be a General Manager. I want to have a vision, I want to understand what the vision of a General Manager is going to be for the hockey club, obviously, as we move forward,… Neely said when essentially asked if he wants to be in full control of the team. “I felt that I was able to have conversations and express my opinions. I felt that I was able to do that the last four or five years—six years. But as far as—I’m not a micromanager and I don’t intend to be.…
Secondly, will Claude Julien hang around as the Boston bench boss?
“We told [Julien] that we really believe that once we go through the exhaustive search to find the next general manager that we will leave it up to that GM to decide what he wants to do with our coaching staff,… Neely noted. “Claude certainly understood that, but that’s where we left it.…
Julien is basically getting the treatment that Dan Bylsma got with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season between Shero’s firing and Jim Rutherford’s introduction, and though his fate will be determined by the Bruins’ new boss,, it doesn’t like Julien’s ready to walk away from his home of eight seasons.
“We told him the situation. We asked him, and he said, ‘I signed a contract to coach here; I want to coach here.’ So he made that clear when he left,… Neely said of Julien, who was signed to a multi-year extension this past season. “We had planned to meet with him in the next couple of days to sit down about the season and talk to him about this past season, so that’s next on our agenda with Claude.…
At the end of the day, the Black and Gold appear to understand the importance of finding the right guy and not just a guy. This is an organization that -- with the exception of this season -- has become a model of success in a league known for its parity. One misstep and it’s ripple-effect that brings you back to square one of a half-empty Garden and 82 meaningless games becoming the norm.
That’s left Jacobs with a not-so-simple task as their search begins: “Finding the best candidate. Period.…
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com