BOSTON – It's the beginning of new era for the Bruins.
Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs made the decision to fire general manager Peter Chiarelli on Tuesday and informed the longtime GM of his decision Wednesday morning. Jacobs hesitated to elaborate on the exact reasons that led the organization to make the move, but Chiarelli's dismissal comes just four days after the Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07.
Fans have complained Chiarelli failed to improve the Bruins at the trade deadline, but he may not have been free to deal as he wished.
Bruins President Cam Neely said he told Chiarelli at the trade deadline to protect future assets, and discouraged acquiring “rental players”.
“It's not just missing the playoffs this year," said Neely, "We just thought it was the best thing moving forward.”
As for the future of head coach Claude Julien, Neely was non-committal.
“We met with Claude this morning and we will leave it up to our next GM to decide on the coaching staff."
The Bruins also relieved three scouts (Mike Chiarelli, Denis Leblanc and Jukka Holtari) of their duties on Wednesday.
