As other NHL teams begin their playoff run, the post-mortem for the Edmonton Oilers‘ 2017/18 season continued Thursday with another news conference.
Oilers Entertainment Group CEO and vice-chair Bob Nicholson addressed the media Thursday afternoon, where he said Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli would return next season.
READ MORE: Plenty of shortcomings in non-playoff season for Edmonton Oilers
“We are in an evaluation process. I’m here to tell you the president and general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Chiarelli, will be the general manager next year,” said Nicholson. “I’ve seen his plans of what his done.
“A lot of it you don’t see, like what he’s done with the scouting component of this organization. Yes, we had a down year. I talked to Peter. He has a plan to get us back in the playoffs next year. We’ll unveil that plan once we go through this evaluation.”
Neither Chiarelli nor head coach Todd McLellan made any commitments to the coaching staff returning when they spoke earlier this week. Nicholson also refused to make any guarantees about who will be behind the bench.
LISTEN BELOW: Oilers Entertainment Group CEO and vice-chair Bob Nicholson speaks to media Thursday
“It’s all being evaluated at this time,” said Nicholson when asked about coaches. “Today, I’m just making an announcement that Peter is here and leading that process.”
READ MORE: ‘The performance of the team is on my shoulders’: Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
Chiarelli shared his thoughts on the lacklustre season as well this week, saying while there are areas to be worked on, he isn’t about to do an overhaul.
“There are things that we have to address immediately,” he said at a news conference Wednesday.
“I’m not ruling out a trade either, but by no means are we going to dismantle this team. I expect this team to be in the playoffs next year.”
The Oilers finished the season with a record of 36-40-6.
– With files from Karen Bartko, Global News