Edmonton Oilers: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

1. Can Peter Chiarelli make a move to save his job?

You know how teams will sometimes play not to lose rather than to win? That’s what the Oilers did this offseason. Despite the need for drastic changes, the only signings they made were Kyle Brodziak and Tobias Rieder. And yet, Chiarelli has fared a lot better than he did the last two offseasons, when he traded away Taylor Hall, Mathew Barzal, and Jordan Eberle for Adam Larsson, Griffin Reinhart, and Ryan Strome. Seeing Hall win the Hart Trophy was just another cruel twist in the knife.

If the Oilers get off to a slow start, the pressure will be on Chiarelli to try and improve the team. At the same time, fans are hoping they’ll be in position to buy when the trade deadline rolls around.

The trick is to not make a deal for the sake of making a deal. That’s what Marc Bergevin is doing in Montreal, and it’s killing his team. He doesn’t need to hit a home run and acquire Erik Karlsson, but at the very least, he should make a low-risk move that will improve the team right now. He’s had a few of those in his Oilers tenure — his trade for Cam Talbot and his signing of Patrick Maroon.

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The solution goes beyond just firing Chiarelli, no matter how popular it may be. After all, who are they going to replace him with, Todd McLellan? Because that went well the last time they tried that. As cliché as it sounds, he simply has to have confidence in himself and the moves he’s making. The second he starts doubting himself, or listens to 200 hockey men instead of the vast majority, is when the ship begins to sink again.