Chiarelli confirms Oilers are sellers: 'There will be changes'
The Edmonton Oilers are officially open for business.
General manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed Tuesday that the Oilers will be sellers before Monday's trade deadline.
"We haven't been good enough, so there will be changes," Chiarelli told reporters.
He added, "We've got some players who have underachieved and may need a new venue."
The Oilers have the league's worst record at 22-32-6, and they're tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the NHL's worst point total (50).
Connor McDavid has enjoyed a productive rookie campaign, averaging over a point per game, but he missed 37 games earlier in the season with a broken clavicle.
Chiarelli said injuries to McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, and Andrew Ference have hurt his ability to assess the team, adding that a deal for one of the Oilers' core players isn't likely to happen soon, but could make sense in the offseason.
"I’m not really looking at (trading a core player) now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking at that in the summer.” - Chiarelli
— Rob Tychkowski (@Sun_Tychkowski) February 23, 2016
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported earlier this month that the Oilers decided to be sellers at the deadline, and that forward Teddy Purcell was a candidate to be moved because of his status as a pending unrestricted free agent with a cap hit of $4.5 million.