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Update from TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, 10 p.m.: “It is my belief a change is imminent at the GM position in Edmonton. It’s no longer a matter of if, but when Peter Chiarelli’s is let go. I’d expect news shortly… 3 straight losses heading into the break give ownership and upper management next to no option at this point. My belief is a change will be made, likely in the next day or so.”

Second update, 11:59 p.m., Rishaug: “Peter Chiarelli has been fired by the Oilers. Done deal.”

My take at 10:00 p.m.

I take Rishaug’s word as gold here. He’s a reliable source.

As for the firing, it is time. Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has to go.

The team he put together in Edmonton is woeful. Yes, it’s only three points out of a playoff spot, but it shows no signs of making a move. In fact, its play continues to deteriorate.

Why fire Chiarelli now?

The Griffin Reinhart trade in his first year as GM was a disaster, a major miscalculation, the kind that sets a franchise back for years. How could Chiarelli give up so much for a d-man who even then showed no ability to dominate even at the AHL level? The Milan Lucic signing in his second year as GM has turned out be a disaster, a major miscalculation, the kind that sets a franchise back for years. There was some reason for Chiarelli to think that moving to heavy hockey was the way to go with the Oilers, mainly the need to play such brutish and successful conference opponents as Anaheim, St. Louis and Los Angeles. Nonetheless, it was the wrong direction in a league moving fast to a speed-and-skill game. The Reinhart and Lucic deals on their own are worth firing Chiarelli, it’s now abundantly evident. But on top of that are a number of moves Chiarelli made this year that have failed to pan out. Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak can’t play at an NHL level. Brandon Manning can’t play at an NHL level. Alex Petrovic could well be in that same category. I can see the logic of the Mikko Koskinen signing, but it’s another case where Chiarelli paid a bit too much on a contract, which combined with his proclivity to get not quite enough in trades. It was an ongoing issue with the GM. He doesn’t seem to be sharp in negotiation, but negotiation is the crucial skill for a GM. The Edmonton Oilers line-up against Detroit may not have been the worst team of the Decade of Darkness-plus, but it was the slowest team of that era. Hardly anyone on the roster can come close to keeping up with McDavid. How many below average skaters can an NHL team have in a line-up and still hope to win? Surely not eight or nine, as the Oilers had this night. Little wonder that ex-NHLer Jeremy Roenick was so scathing in his commentary, saying: “I can’t believe they’re a professional hockey league team … Their 17 other skaters might have the lowest hockey IQ of any team I’ve ever seen. It’s embarrassing.” This game against Detroit was a must-win but the Oilers iced a defence of six players who are average-to-weak at moving the puck, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse, Kris Russell, Matt Benning, Brandon Manning and Alex Petrovic. How did they expect to win this game with those six d-men? It wasn’t going to happen. Instead it was Puck Chippers Incorporated out there. It was hard to watch. The one truly redeeming feature of the Chiarelli era has been the rebuilding of prospect depth on the Oilers, with players like Caleb Jones, Tyler Benson, Cooper Marody, Kirill Maksimov, Evan Bouchard, Ethan Bear, Cameron Hebig, William Lagesson, Joel Persson and Stuart Skinner in the system. That makes up somewhat for the terrible legacy contracts Chiarelli has burdened the team with. But it is not enough to keep him around — and it should not be enough. It was worth seeing if a new coach would made a difference, to get a second opinion on the line-up that Chiarelli assembled. We now have that second opinion. This team is no better under Hitchcock than it was under McLellan. Yes, the Oilers top d-man in Oscar Klefbom has been out, but other teams have had major injuries and had far more game than the Oilers. Chiarelli’s team can’t compete. It doesn’t compete. We have all seen enough. As Jeremy Roenick said, this is indeed embarrassing. Time to move on, install a caretaker GM, then conduct a major job search at the end of the season.