Oilers hire Stan Bowman as GM & EVP of Hockey Ops

[ClydeLee]

An NHL GM is powerful enough to not do that. He ain't getting fired over it that's for sure, because the team obviously did not want to have to explain the reason for it. If he pressed the issue, something would have been done, at the very least a real investigation. Let's not pretend he's some mid-level ticket sales exec whose job was at risk for pushing back against the boss.

If I'm not seeming very forgiving, it's because more than one person close to me was a victim in their past, one of them as a child. And every one of them, decades later, is still messed up about it. Every one of them also faced situations where people who knew and had the ability to make a difference, stood by and did nothing for one reason or other, and that's almost as traumatizing as the events themselves. People chose the easy path for themselves, and allowed horrible things to happen to others as a result. The resulting suffering is immense and will have to be carried for the rest of their lives, even if they've "healed" enough to live good lives.

Meanwhile guys like Bowman got to live he life of a wildly successful GM, and as soon as his suspension was up gets rehired like a hot commodity. He may have genuine remorse but make no mistake, his and other's inactions bought him a really good life. So the thought that they should focus on the Cup ... well they got to do that for 10+ years, now didn't they? He got exactly what he wanted out of pushing things off, the whole point was that management didn't want the inconvenience or distraction of this incident to detract from what they were doing on the ice. Great, well mission accomplished I guess.

And despite the scandal, those 10 years have now bought him an immediate prime seat right back at the table as soon as his suspension was up. Unfortunately for the victims, their suffering isn't just 3 years of volunteer work and then gets washed away.

Redemption for Bowman isn't going to come in the form of a successful GM gig. They could go on to win 5 straight Cups, and it means nothing to me as far as Bowman goes. What would really mean something is if he has an ethical situation, and chooses what's right even if it means it's not good for the team's on ice situation.

With your last stance, I am curious how you felt about the Corey Perry situation. Many people still felt that mared the blackhawks in their views. Yet what they did is react to a situation and cut off the player when it seems most teams wouldn't of done anything. The nhlpa seemed to think he was let go too harshly, as they got Perry the money owed when he never even asked to fight the move by the initial deadline.

Some saw that as another scar yet some saw it as a team trying to show the signs of taking strong actions against misconduct and swiftly moving on. A scenario like that could be a thing that happens for Bowman but I'm sure to many people, the fact of something happening will make them blame him for it even if he does act accordingly.

 

[wetcoast]

Do the people holding up Sheldon Kennedy as a shield here realize he’s being paid for this? Like he’s not giving these statements out of the blue, he’s being compensated by the party who wants him to say positive things. He’s a lobbyist.

Did you read the article?

Do you disagree with what he's saying?

Would you feel better if he was just consulted and not paid by a 3rd party organization, he isn't working for the Oilers.

You call Kennedy a shield I call him addressing attention to a learning moment and moving on.

It's easy just to say banish, redemption is hard work as is dealing with these issues.

 

[Little Fury]

Do the people holding up Sheldon Kennedy as a shield here realize he’s being paid for this? Like he’s not giving these statements out of the blue, he’s being compensated by the party who wants him to say positive things. He’s a lobbyist.

So you're saying a guy who was sexually assaulted himself and has dedicated his post hockey career to advocating for other survivors is selling out those survivors for money? That's a pretty bold claim.

 

[TheDoldrums]

You have proof of that? Even if it is true what does it matter if Sheldon agrees?

I am not defending the hire but I see zero relevance to the hiring and this statement you made.

His company is a “for profit” consulting firm. If you don’t understand why they’re incentivized to give their customers what they want, I can’t help you.

https://t.co/JFgZEW28pU

 

[jackjohnson]

He did have his consequence. He was dragged through the mud on this and had to leave his team in disgrace. It's not like he was the abuser, and he was not even the top decision maker. He was told by his superior that the matter was dealt with. He definitely paid more than Toews, Kane, Keith and Cheveldayoff

No he did not, not sure why you defend him. He got hired a couple of years later by your team. He should have been banned from NHL

 

[TheDoldrums]

What about Kyle Beach, who not only worked closely with Bowman after the events, and who was also consulted and supported his hiring? Does his opinion matter?

Can you link to a statement from Kyle Beach? Or are you taking the word of Bowman, while being grilled in a press conference?

 

[jackjohnson]

Can an Oiler fan that is happy about this hiring please enlighten me on why this was a good move?

Lets pretend his name is Joe Smith and he wasnt a huge dbag with zero moral compass.

Joe Smith history:

Panarin for Saad LMAO
1st,3rd Dano for Ladd LMAO
Seth Jones trade/ Seth Jones Contract
A dozen more similar transactions that haulted any chance of Chicago being more dominant for a longer period of time.

This dude is probably top 5 worst GM in the NHL right now...... why hire him???

I would say Holland is even better than him just comparing his GM skills not even mentioning character or reputation

 

[wetcoast]

Can you link to a statement from Kyle Beach? Or are you taking the word of Bowman, while being grilled in a press conference?

Even if his source was Bowman in the press conference do you really think that Bowman would have lied about it at this point?

 

[TheDoldrums]

So you're saying a guy who was sexually assaulted himself and has dedicated his post hockey career to advocating for other survivors is selling out those survivors for money? That's a pretty bold claim.

I wouldn’t be quite that dramatic, but the vast, vast majority of humans will find ways to use whatever connections and tools they have for at least some personal gain. And I’m not naive enough to believe that being assaulted makes you a more virtuous person than others on that alone.

Even if his source was Bowman in the press conference do you really think that Bowman would have lied about it at this point?

Do I think the guy holding a press conference about defending his character might stretch the truth to make himself look better? Yes, absolutely.

 

[BlueSeal]

What about Kyle Beach, who not only worked closely with Bowman after the events, and who was also consulted and supported his hiring? Does his opinion matter?

Phil Leotardo compromised and ate grilled cheese off the rad-e-ate-er.

 

[JPT]

Even if his source was Bowman in the press conference do you really think that Bowman would have lied about it at this point?

Well he's the kind of guy who passes the buck on a sexual assault, so yeah maybe

------------------------------------------------------

I guess we know the high school student, who was victimized after Aldrich resigned from the Blackhawks, was not asked since he was a minor at the time and his name was withheld.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I agree. I think you tell both but it's the responsibility of the victim to pursue all legal avenues and provide evidence for criminal charges. I certainly believe the Blackhawks should have handled the accusation differently within their organization for workplace standards from an internal policy standpoint but the criminality is all Beach's responsibility, he was a legal adult at the time. It's not the Blackhawks job to babysit an adult's personal life. That is why we have laws, police, and courts.

It’s not that simple. A predator like Aldrich grooms his victims and uses his position of power over them so they won’t go to the police. It’s not a coincidence that after leaving the Blackhawks he had a college internship program at his company that had a stable of young men working for him.

 

[ClydeLee]

It’s not that simple. A predator like Aldrich grooms his victims and uses his position of power over them so they won’t go to the police. It’s not a coincidence that after leaving the Blackhawks he had a college internship program at his company that had a stable of young men working for him.

Well that's what he had after he already went to jail for abusing a minor. Hopefully that stopped him from his actions and idk if any journalists reached out to people who had worked for him in the current era at all.

 

[GOilers88]

Can you link to a statement from Kyle Beach? Or are you taking the word of Bowman, while being grilled in a press conference?

I can't link a statement from Beach, no. But Jeff Jackson said he also reached out to Kyle pre-hiring and I see no reason to believe JJ would make up some bold faced lies.

For me the biggest thing that has softened me, and let me clarify I'm not in favor of this hiring at all, is the opinion of Sheldon Kennedy. People are questioning his character and motives as well as invalidating his opinion on all of this and that's their prerogative. But I disagree.

Making my way through the official report has also led me to some new opinions. Like why Chevy doesn't seem to get any heat at all despite maintaining his job all the way through. This isn't me saying he's guilty of anything, is a bad person, or trying to deflect from Bowman. Just that they were both Assistant GM's and both sat in on the same meetings and were given the same information and had the exact same response, but one non response is acceptable and the other isn't.

 

[wetcoast]

I wouldn’t be quite that dramatic, but the vast, vast majority of humans will find ways to use whatever connections and tools they have for at least some personal gain. And I’m not naive enough to believe that being assaulted makes you a more virtuous person than others on that alone.

Do I think the guy holding a press conference about defending his character might stretch the truth to make himself look better? Yes, absolutely.

Okay I guess that makes you extremely cynical then and when someone finds the quote or reference from Beach you will discredit anyways like you did with Kennedy......speaking of cynical the first paragraph above is yikes cynical at best.

Man I hope you find some peace.

 

[Killer Orcas]

And both have been stated to be incredible teammates during their time in Edmonton.

It's honestly weird how non-Oiler fans seemed to be more focused on "character issues" in Edmonton, more so than Oiler fans themselves.

It's a forum nobody cares personally least I don't however is weird how Oilers keep coming up when a questionable character becomes available. If it works for any team not just Oilers sure go nuts but don't complain when people talk about it. It's human nature but then again it's human nature to defend something you care about so I see your side.

 

[Little Fury]

I wouldn’t be quite that dramatic, but the vast, vast majority of humans will find ways to use whatever connections and tools they have for at least some personal gain. And I’m not naive enough to believe that being assaulted makes you a more virtuous person than others on that alone.

But we aren't talking about "the vast majority of humans" we're talking about one specific human here so I would love to know what, other than deep and abiding cynicism bordering on nihilism, would make you claim Sheldon Kennedy would sell out sexual abuse survivors for money.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

It's hiring's like these that help embolden and empower sexual predators...Oilers should be ashamed of themselves and any financials supporters of the team.

 

[Three On Zero]

It's a forum nobody cares personally least I don't however is weird how Oilers keep coming up when a questionable character becomes available. If it works for any team not just Oilers sure go nuts but don't complain when people talk about it. It's human nature but then again it's human nature to defend something you care about so I see your side.

This same conversation would have come up regardless of whom hired Bowman. It’s just further intensified when the team also has a history of questionable character additions.

 

[FiveTacos]

The whole thing about the Black Hawks situation and some peoples views on it is that it's easy to after the fact play armchair QB or GM or whatever but the reality is that most people in put in that position probably wouldn't have acted much differently in the timeline of events and actual knowledge and not speculation was part of the problem as the timeline unfolded.

Perhaps, but someone like Bowman, whose name alone carries a ton of weight, double so as an NHL GM, was certainly in a position where the risk to himself was going to be minimal if not nonexistent. He wasn't gonna get fired because he wanted a sexual assault accusation investigated. If anything if it came down to a power struggle, once people found out what the power struggle was about it's the other guy who was toast. He very likely not only retains his job, and continues to have most if not all the success he's had with a strong roster, he also becomes a hero of the story.

There is always a lot of uncertainty for people to act when it might bite them in the ass and a lot of people hope the other person does it, especially if the information isn't 100% obvious at the time.

When it's allegations like this, your #1 job as a senior exec and a decent human being should be to find out the info, right? This isn't someone coming to him saying an employee might be stealing kegs of beer, and he kind of brushes it off as not worth his time. This was serious stuff involving a potential predator or criminal under his nose.

If you want the luxury of looking the other way when told to do so, don't accept a job in one of the big chairs, right? You want the power, then take the responsibility. No one blames the scout for not doing more when he found out, he likely had no power to make anything happen. A GM with Bowman's family pedigree, OTOH, if he wanted an internal investigation they'd have had one. Ultimately, he didn't want it.

With your last stance, I am curious how you felt about the Corey Perry situation. Many people still felt that mared the blackhawks in their views. Yet what they did is react to a situation and cut off the player when it seems most teams wouldn't of done anything.

Im not privy to details of how much they knew or did not know for sure before sending him packing, or if that was even the right call. I'm glad they did SOMETHING however, as opposed to just having it dismissed.

You can try to do the right thing and still make mistakes, that's forgivable. What's not forgivable is when you know something horrible may be happening, but you make a conscious choice to ignore it because it might be inconvenient.

 

[Cup or Bust]

It’s not that simple. A predator like Aldrich grooms his victims and uses his position of power over them so they won’t go to the police. It’s not a coincidence that after leaving the Blackhawks he had a college internship program at his company that had a stable of young men working for him.

Criminal charges should have been filed against him at the time of the event. The Blackhawks only responsibility is how they handle code of conduct within their organization (I certainly do criticize them for that) and to cooperate with the police in any investigation that is taking place. The legal adult (Beach) has the responsibility with pursuing the criminal side in filing a police report and having it investigated by the police and charges filed. It's not the Blackhawks job to police Aldrich once he is dismissed from their organization. The Blackhawks are not a law enforcement agency.

 

[Mr Positive]

Can you link to a statement from Kyle Beach? Or are you taking the word of Bowman, while being grilled in a press conference?

So if Beach does endorse Bowman, that would change your mind?

BTW the odds that Bowman lied about it are just about zero. If he did, of course Beach would call him out.

We don't have a quote from Kyle. Bowman phoned him before the hire and it was a positive phone call. If we don't hear from Beach then that is conformation enough. Beach doesn't have to make a public statement if he doesn't want to

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

If you remove the hockey element from it and it were just some company I doubt people would be as sympathetic as they are to Stan Bowman.

As has been mentioned, he benefited immensely from helping to cover up the abuse for a decade, even when you factor in his three season hiatus.

 

[shakes the clown]

So do you believe that by not going public with his story and pressing charges against Aldrich that Beach bears some responsibility for what happened to victims after him?

yes

 

[shakes the clown]

No, that’s just strange that your mind went there. It’s odd so many are completely out of touch with reality.

At the time he was not a known sex offender. He was a person accused of being one.

If you want my opinion of if the ends justify the means to make decisions in hindsight that’s a different situation entirely.

most sex offenders do not become known sex offenders until they commit a crime and get charged with it. Victims need to step up in order for hidden sex offenders to become known sex offenders. Victims owe it to society to do just that.

Not sure what the point of your first 2 sentences are. I could say the exact same thing about you.