Oilers hire Stan Bowman as GM & EVP of Hockey Ops

[Lawzy]

Obviously you should not and cannot put aside the person that is Stan Bowman. But even if you do... he's not even a good GM. What a train wreck of a decision.

 

[DS7]

That Boston Pizza commercial is gonna be extra spicy this year.

 

[Oildrum]

I've never been more disappointed to be a lifelong Oilers fan.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Obvious, obvious, obvious issues aside, Bowman is a guy that had a window of elite relevancy but the rest of the league caught up and surpassed him a long time ago.

If he had no dirt on his resume, okay, sure... I could see some organizarion hiring him. But it's almost akin to hiring Billy Beane in 2025 in baseball. Okay, neat... but nothing special there.

Bluntly stated, Bowman's genius was in cap crunching as much as possible, and most of those skillsets have been outlawed or caught up to. Big whoop.

But with his dirt? Woof, that's a rough hire.

 

[thegazelle]

I have been an Oilers fan since I lived in Edmonton in the late 70s/early 80s. I have cheered on this team through thick and thin and given the team the benefit of the doubt for their staffing and player decisions over the course of decades. This is probably the first time in over years that I am embarrassed for this organization and ashamed of my team.

 

[Shane Diesel]

 

[BlueSeal]

Setting my stopwatch to see how long it takes before he's released because of the necessary outcry. This scum should be in jail, not GMing an NHL or any team.

 

[Kaniac]

Absolutely f***ing sickening, I can’t imagine any Oilers fan defending this, luckily, I have not seen any defend it

As an Oiler fan, I haven't seen one post defending it. When the idea of signing bowman initially came up, everyone Oiler fan was screaming no. We were pretty united about it. Jackson just pulled the rug out from under us. So much goodwill thrown out the window.

 

[Ugene Magic]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816119204967260579

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

I don't care about the controversy because Brad Aldrich's actions are not his fault

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816119204967260579

 

[CycloneSweep]

Kids are drafted at 18 years old. Legal minors. Not old enough to buy a beer in North America except in Quebec, and this guy manages them, after a sex abuse coverup. It's insane.

you are no longer a minor at 18

 

[ToDavid]

The NHL knows there's no better way of resuscitating Bowman's reputation than having McDavid drag "his" team to a cup.

Who wants to guess if job opportunity factored into the timing of his reinstatement? No way Gary lets him come back to work for a bad team. The press would be awful.

 

[Sweetpotato]

Even putting all the baggage aside, he’s a shitty gm.

As an Oiler fan, this is my problem with the hire. Put aside all the baggage and he inherited an embarrassment of riches and pissed it away. The Blackhawks in large won in spite of Bowman not because of him.

 

[Mr Kot]

 

[Turin]

Dude was straight up Chiarelli bad at his job too.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Even putting all the baggage aside, he’s a shitty gm.

this is the worst part....hopefully he's a puppet GM for JJ

 

[Mrfenn92]

Any idea why Jackson didn’t want the Gm tag?

 

[hangman005]

Though I imagine caps fans right now are looking something like this.

 

[Lawzy]

Any idea why Jackson didn’t want the Gm tag?

All signs point to he's simply the smartest guy in the room.

 

[Canovin]

Not only GM. But also POHO? haha

 

[BLNY]

You know that thread that asks something along the lines of 'What would it take to leave your team as a fan for good?'

This it it.

How quickly do McDavid and Draisaitl follow them out the door?

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Bad look.
Embarrassing.
Guy shouldn't be in the league.

This should go over well.

Hope every reporter asks him all the questions about what happened constantly and he has a breakdown

 

[Sweetpotato]

Absolutely f***ing sickening, I can’t imagine any Oilers fan defending this, luckily, I have not seen any defend it

Extremely disappointing. JJ did an amazing job and built so much excitement in the org and city and has now pissed it all away to hire this loser. This will be another Bruins with Chiarelli and Blackhawks with Bowman where we likely win a cup in spite of Bowman and not because of him.

 

[Cup or Bust]

I can't speak about the Beach incident because I haven't studied all the specific details about it and Bowman was not charged with any crimes but it sounds like Bowman did really good work with Sheldon Kennedy's Respect Group and even he endorses Stan Bowman, so I will respect Sheldon Kennedy's opinion far more then random people online.

Whether he has been or is a good GM is another issue.

 

[Draiskull]

Any idea why Jackson didn’t want the Gm tag?

probably because he wants to be McDavid's agent again when he signs his next deal (20M x 8) and live happily ever after off the commission.

Bowman gets the blame for giving McD that much money. JJ gets the EZ money