Bruins owner: Chiarelli fired because of an unwillingness to turn over the roster

In order to get change, the Boston Bruins needed to make one.

Jeremy Jacobs discussed his contentious firing of Stanley Cup architect and current Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli at the Winter Classic press event Wednesday, telling reporters that the dismissal was rooted in his reluctance to turn over the roster.

"It's a cap environment we find ourselves in here, and you've got to look to the future. If you watch the success of the Chicago team, and I do admire them quite a bit, they dealt with their high-priced players early on and kept creating room," the Bruins owner said, CSNNE's Joe Haggerty reports.

"We didn't deal with it in a timely enough manner and we found ourselves in a cap position that wasn't attractive for us," he added.

In Edmonton, Chiarelli will have an opportunity to build, not preserve, in a situation similar to when he took over a last-place Bruins roster in 2006, and flipped them into a champion in just five seasons.