His first major move came in the 2016 offseason when he traded Taylor Hall to New Jersey in exchange for Adam Larsson. While the primary goal of this move was to acquire more depth on the blue line, the message was clear: the Oilers were changing. And in order to change, they had to start fresh, rebuilding with a new core.
Two seasons and one playoff berth later, Chiarelli is continuing to remove and add pieces to turn the Oilers into a championship contender. A little over a month ago, he got rid of another core piece in Jordan Eberle.