PRAGUE – Peter Chiarelli is still working on the title.

Not his own.

The new President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers has convinced demoted G.M. Craig MacTavish to stay on as Super Duper Chief Right Hand Head Man.

Or something like that.

“I haven’t settled on his title,” said Chiarelli, who is here in Prague for the opening weekend of the IIHF World Championship.

“He’ll be the No. 2 guy,” Chiarelli made it official in an exclusive interview upon arrival.

When Chiarelli was introduced at a press conference in Edmonton last week, the status of MacTavish, other than the fact he wouldn’t be general manager any longer, was a bit iffy.

But after that conference, Chiarelli convinced the former Oilers coach of eight seasons and G.M. of two, to climb on a plane to Kelowna with him to go watch Oilers first round draft choice Leon Draisaitl play for the Rockets in the WHL playoff series against the Portland Winterhawks.

“He’ll be No. 2 in all aspects,” said Chiarelli.

“He’ll be my eyes and ears in all areas.

“I want to have strong people with strong opinions.”

Chiarelli expects it to work.

He also expects it will be very difficult for MacTavish in the beginning but that he’s the kind of individual who will make it work.

“I had real fresh knowledge about what it is like to be fired,” said Chiarelli, who was canned after nine years running the Boston Bruins, getting to two Stanley Cup Finals and winning one without missing the playoffs until this season.

“He was upset,” he said of MacTavish being bounced to make way for Chiarelli.

“I explained some of the ways I operate

“I explained how much I’d like to have him in the mix and I’m glad he’s come around and decided to stay with us.”

Where this leaves assistant general manager Lucky Bill Scott and former Columbus general manager Scott Howson is open to speculation. But they're still there doing exactly the same jobs they were prior to Chiarelli's hire.

There will be no mass of firings with the Edmonton Oilers under Chiarelli.

“I am not a scorched earth guy,” he said.

“I’m not going to come in and gas everybody.

“One of the first things I have to do is find out what the landscape is.

“There may be changes,” he said. “But they are not immanent.”

There is an entire staff in limbo in Boston but Chiarelli said he isn’t allowed to talk to any of them because they are currently under contract.

“There are good people there that I worked with for nine years,” he said.

Asked if any of the changes would come prior to the June draft or July 1 free agency, Chiarelli that would be highly unlikely.

After the game in Kelowna, Chiarelli flew home to Boston for a couple days, went to Erie, Pa. to watch Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid play in their OHL series and then headed here.

Chiarelli talked to Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, the two Oilers on Team Canada that opened the tournament with a win over Latvia and planned to do the same with Oscar Klefbom and Anton Lander who were on the ice for Sweden in the second game.

He also met with pro scout Morley Gare and the Oilers European scouts who will work this year’s Worlds after Chiarelli departs on Monday to head to the Oilers amateur scouting meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In the meantime he has coaches he plans to talk to here.

“A couple,” he said.

One, obviously, is Todd McLellan who is currently coaching Team Canada here and is believed to be the No. 2 guy on Chiarelli’s list behind Mike Babcock if he comes available as expected from Detroit.

“Roster and coaching are my two priorities,” he said.

“So far I’ve found a lot of energy and a lot of passion in place in the organization. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall seem very excited and looking forward to the future.”

Chiarelli has also met with a few general manager here already.

“I’m getting condolences and congratulations at the same time,” he laughed.

“And I’ve had a few of them already trying to pick my pocket. It’s good to be back in the saddle.”

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terry.jones@sunmedia.ca