Bruins Fire General Manager Peter Chiarelli

When your team misses the playoffs the year after being bounced early in the early rounds by your biggest rival, changes are going to be made. The first of those changes is the firing of Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli.

There were injuries that dealt a blow to the B's prospects this season, but it is the job of the GM to make sure the organization has the roster depth and salary cap flexibility to recover. Every team experiences injuries, including Stanley Cup champion teams. The 2011 Bruins won without arguably their most talented player in Marc Savard, who suffered a career ending concussion, and Nathan Horton who was concussed prior to the Finals. Why? Because the roster was talented enough and deep enough to do so and Chiarelli deserves a ton of credit for building that roster.

It is a "what have you done for me lately" business though, and a Stanley Cup win doesn't buy you a five year grace period. Injuries to the Bruins defensive corp really hampered the Bruins through much of the season. They were unnecessarily difficult on account of fan favorite and now New York Islander Johnny Boychuck being dealt for no immediate return, purportedly to allow the team to seek out a player to replace free agent loss Jarome Iginlia's production. That follow up move never happened. The result? A team that lost in the second round of the 2014 playoffs without two key players failing to make the post-season. Pair all that with the still controversial 2013 trade of star player Tyler Seguin and you have a recipe that does not bode well for job security.

Peter Chiarelli had a remarkable run since joining the organization in 2006; the team's first Stanley Cup Championship since 1972, a second appearance in the Cup Finals, and even The President's Cup Trophy for being the top team in the regular season just last year. Ultimately, his Boston tenure will be remembered both for his role in bringing the Cup home and for trading away elite scorer Tyler Seguin.

Meanwhile, the Bruins search for a new GM starts today.