When Chiarelli gave his thoughts on the season that was, his assessment was very positive. With Edmonton making the playoffs for the first time since 2006, there was plenty to be pleased with. Chiarelli even said the team exceeded his expectations.
Chiarelli said his original expectation was in the 85-point range. The Oilers finished the season with 103 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Moving forward, the Stanley Cup window is wide open.
"Yeah, absolutely. It wasn't closed," said Chiarelli. "I just don't know if we were quite ready for it and in hindsight if you look back, maybe we weren't…
"Once you get in, anything can happen. Look at Nashville. Look at Edmonton here 10 or 11 years ago. Look at a number of teams that have come in through the back door. Yes, the players have shown through the year resiliency and then I saw it prominently during the playoffs. That's the type of character, that's the type of glue, that's the type of make-up you want in a team. I was very happy with what I saw. I didn't like some of the ways we lost, but I liked some of the ways we won. Now you're into the next series and they're very close games. The window absolutely, we're in that spot."