Confirmed with Link: Oilers hire Stan Bowman as GM & Executive VP- press conference at 10:30

[OfCorsiDid]

McDavid was a draft pick. It's not free haha

Draft picks are basically free since teams are given the exact same amount for each draft.

Either way, how you acquire an asset shouldn’t have any bearing of what you sell them for, it’s about the value they bring at the time.

Bowman didn’t even get pennies on the dollar for Panarin.

 

[McHelpus]

Well if winning is the top priority then they were better off not hiring Bowman. There wasn't a single reason to hire this man.

They just couldn't help themselves.

 

[Stoneman89]

I really think that's what the Oilers may come to regret.

If outside management, namely other GMs, don't like Stan Bowman, making deals with other teams could prove to be a real challenge.

And then there's the question of trying to recruit UFAs or players with NTC/NMC to come to Edmonton too.

Just one more obstacle to trying to build a Stanley Cup winning team.

At the end of the day, business is business. And from what every report says, Bowman has been contrite and sought assistance for his actions in all of this, from none other than Sheldon Kennedy. If anything, I think the chances of him ever backing off from even a sniff of this type of thing in future, would be remote or non-existent. With anyone else, you never know.
It will be interesting to hear him at the news conference and going forward to address this. But once that uncomfortable business is done, I doubt it will be brought up again, nor should it.

 

[Wreckus]

When I heard about the hire this morning, I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but wanted to listen to the press conference before I over react.

The key thing I wanted to hear was that Bowman reached out to Kyle Beach and he did on a few occasions. I am also glad that he worked with Sheldon Kennedy to learn more about this issue.

I’m OK with this hire now as Kyle Beach seems to be also OK with it. If he wasn’t OK with it, then I would be very unhappy about this hiring.

For the fans, I totally respect if you hate this as you are entitled to your views and opinions.

 

[PULSATING]

The risk to reward ratio with this is so off its crazy.

This org is dumb af sometimes.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Yeah. Its not Just Stan Bowman its that society changes, gets confused, values change and athletes locker rooms and sports have seldom been the heights of virtue and enlightenment. Whenever there is this kind of trackback through history it ends up applying todays mores and constructs to yesterdays problems. Historically a lot of individuals fail based on retroactive parameters. What occurred in Chicago was not isolated, and it wasn't isolated to the Hawks either. They were the ones embroiled in a court case.

In anycase forgiveness defines enlightened society.

Surprisingly poignant for a hockey forum, well said.

Hawks fan here, not very happy he's gotten another job. Especially since he realistically could win a Cup his first year back. I agree with you entirely about the changing of societies values over time, how it's not fair to make present day judgments on the actions of the past, and that forgiveness drives society forward.

HOWEVER I'm of the belief that what happened was so awful the consequences must be drastic to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. Bowman and Q have had long careers of success and made a lot of money. They weren't entirely or even mostly at fault for what happened, you all should direct that blame towards our slippery former President, Jon MacDonough, who all these details were passed up to by subordinates that he then sat on for a decade. A man who has been dead-silent on this issue.

If Bowman and Q are to be brought back in it should be through the lower ranks first and they should have to earn their previous roles back. Being away from the game for a few years isn't enough. It just doesn't feel right that Stan Bowman gets to come back and run one of the league's best teams right away.

As far as the on-ice product Bowman has a mixed bag of success. We're talking about it on the Hawks board now. His drafting and trades were 1000% crucial in getting the Hawks back to being an elite team from 2013-2015. That is undeniable. He also made bad decision after bad decision from the 2015 offseason onwards aside from originally signing Panarin. I'm not sure he has had the pulse of the league for the last 8 years. I don't believe he's good at identifying NHL talent and I don't believe his idea of roster construction will translate.

Best of luck to the Oilers going forward, I was rooting for you guys to win it all last year.

 

[OfCorsiDid]

Don't interrupt the performative wokeness..

Heads must roll!!

I don’t know what makes you think any of this is performative.

Even if you forgive him for the Chicago incidents, it’s still a bad hockey move.

 

[Kaniac]

I really hope teams don't avoid the Oilers now when it comes to trades. I'm really curious on how other NHL gms feel about the situation? Is there still respect? Or are we back to "we'll make a trade but you need to overpay before we can even consider it"?

 

[McBooya42]

I'm really not sure how to feel after reading, watching the presser, and reading some more.

My biggest issue for the team is that it just seems like a PR shitstorm that will loom over them moving forward affecting on ice results. I can also appreciate people not wanting him involved in any capacity.

But I also have to acknowledge some of the unpopular opinions I'm seeing as fair. Like this reddit user.

"When it comes to supporting victims of sexual assault in hockey I'm not sure there's many people who've done more than Sheldon Kennedy.


[And according to Sheldon Kennedy](https://www.respectgroupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/my-work-with-stan-bowman-sk.pdf):

>I believe Stan would be a valuable asset to an organization due to his acknowledgment of past mistakes and his relentless efforts to make the locker room/game safer for everyone. He possesses the insights, knowledge, and confidence needed to lead in this area. I feel building a strong and healthy culture within an organization and practicing it on an ongoing basis will be a top priority for Stan. I also believe Stan will carry this message within the hockey eco system, which can only help.


Now, Kennedy's voice isn't the only one that matters, though I haven't heard about any of Brad Aldrich's victims speaking out against Bowman's reinstatement.

It seems to me if you actually do care about victims of sexual assault you'd want to take Kennedy's statement seriously. For me personally, it completely flipped my view on this hire.

I'm honestly annoyed at people who claim to support victims of sexual assault and then flat out ignore what the victims of sexual assault say.

Sometimes doing the right thing means doing something unpopular.

In 2010, doing the right thing meant firing Aldrich, reporting him to the police, and creating a major scandal in the middle of the group's first Stanley Cup run.

In 2024, doing the right thing means taking one of the people who made that previous bad decision and putting him in a position to ensure mistakes like that never happen again.

I'm certain that 90% of the people whining about this hire wouldn't have done anything to upset the apple cart in 2010. I'm encouraged that Jeff Jackson had the courage to listen to the people who actually care about sexual assault and put Stan Bowman in charge."


I can't disagree with all of that. Especially with regards to Kennedy, as well as Kyle Beach himself, according to Jeff Jackson.

Still bakes my noodle that this is the way they decided to go, but we'll see I guess.

Good post. I'm on the fence still after reading and educating myself more, but that being said...It was telling for me that Sheldon Kennedy requested to be there at the presser in support. As bad as the base optics initially are here, there is an opportunity to lead the NHL and promote safe spaces, and openness for positive change. There us still a lot of work to be done regarding abuse of all kinds on all levels of hockey. Maybe we can help pave the way with the established work that Bowman and Kennedy have already done on the minor level. He seemed sincere to me.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Well if winning is the top priority then they were better off not hiring Bowman. There wasn't a single reason to hire this man.

Jackson explained his reasons in the press conference.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. For people like yourself though it won’t matter what Bowman does, you’ve made your decision on him and no matter what moves he makes you’ll dislike them and if the Oilers win you’ll downplay his role but if they lose it’ll all be Bowman’s fault.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I really hope teams don't avoid the Oilers now when it comes to trades. I'm really curious on how other NHL gms feel about the situation? Is there still respect? Or are we back to "we'll make a trade but you need to overpay before we can even consider it"?

Given Bowman's track record if anything I expect more teams to give us a call.

 

[Canovin]

If Beach is okay with Bowman and another team hires Quennville and Beach isn't okay with it. Then you know who the culprit is.

 

[Slats432]

You're right, the Oilers have been excellent judges about this sort of thing. If someone in a similar situation was hired above you in your job I'm sure you'd be perfectly okay with it.


They said so in the presser.

This isn't believable. What is believable is that they consulted and said they didn't so the players wouldn't have to get asked questions about the hiring.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Jackson explained his reasons in the press conference.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. For people like yourself though it won’t matter what Bowman does, you’ve made your decision on him and no matter what moves he makes you’ll dislike them and if the Oilers win you’ll downplay his role but if they lose it’ll all be Bowman’s fault.

Even putting all the SA stuff aside he's still not a good GM. Go ask Hawks fans how they feel about him.

This isn't believable. What is believable is that they consulted and said they didn't so the players wouldn't have to get asked questions about the hiring.

Why lie about it? They're going to get asked now how they feel about it since they apparently weren't consulted.

 

[Ben Grimm]

... One thing I do know is that I value winning absolutely above all and my belief is that Jackson has put the pieces in place for this team to finish the job. ...

Yeah, if it helps winning hockey, Canada and the US should voluntarily become territories of China and Russia and all rights should be abolished.

 

[Canovin]

Good post. I'm on the fence still after reading and educating myself more, but that being said...It was telling for me that Sheldon Kennedy requested to be there at the presser in support. As bad as the base optics initially are here, there is an opportunity to lead the NHL and promote safe spaces, and openness for positive change. There us still a lot of work to be done regarding abuse of all kinds on all levels of hockey. Maybe we can help pave the way with the established work that Bowman and Kennedy have already done on the minor level. He seemed sincere to me.

This has the potential to be very good and I agree. Players at all levels, all genders will feel more safe and open about it if a premiere team like the Oilers can lead the charge

 

[Pavel10]

Bowman made a lot of mistakes in the press conference. One of them I noticed was when he was "working with Kennedy" and Kennedy asked him did you try to contact beach.

"yeah I did he didn't return my call". The hierarchy of how serious people take things email, call, zoom meeting and finally in person meeting.

Kennedy had to make him keep trying to reach out to Beach. Unbelievable.

 

[Slats432]

Even putting all the SA stuff aside he's still not a good GM. Go ask Hawks fans how they feel about him.


Why lie about it? They're going to get asked now how they feel about it since they apparently weren't consulted.

Plausible deniability. Easier to say "JJ did what he did, my job is to play."

 

[Spawn]

When I heard about the hire this morning, I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but wanted to listen to the press conference before I over react.

The key thing I wanted to hear was that Bowman reached out to Kyle Beach and he did on a few occasions. I am also glad that he worked with Sheldon Kennedy to learn more about this issue.

I’m OK with this hire now as Kyle Beach seems to be also OK with it. If he wasn’t OK with it, then I would be very unhappy about this hiring.

For the fans, I totally respect if you hate this as you are entitled to your views and opinions.

The problem is that even if you completely ignore the controversy surrounding his prior history... he's been a bad GM for years. He inherited a cup team and spent a decade slowly mismanaging it through bad signings and bad trades to the point that the Blackhawks are now a mess of an organization.

Chiarelli
Holland
Bowman

This team keeps hiring GMs who once upon a time won a cup(s), but then spent years destroying their teams.

This organization never seems to figure out how to bring in someone on the upswing of their career.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Apparently Bowman and Jackson are very close. Gazzola stated its not a Katz hire. Katz gave him a chance to hire his GM choice and Jackson went with Bowman.

I hope they are close because he can get the job done and not because they are f***ing close friends

 

[McOilers97]

There's a world of nuance between "I only care about hockey" and "the Oilers are pieces of shit for ever hiring Bowman". Those that exist in either extreme aren't worth wasting your time arguing with.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Surprisingly poignant for a hockey forum, well said.

Hawks fan here, not very happy he's gotten another job. Especially since he realistically could win a Cup his first year back. I agree with you entirely about the changing of societies values over time, how it's not fair to make present day judgments on the actions of the past, and that forgiveness drives society forward.

HOWEVER I'm of the belief that what happened was so awful the consequences must be drastic to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. Bowman and Q have had long careers of success and made a lot of money. They weren't entirely or even mostly at fault for what happened, you all should direct that blame towards our slippery former President, Jon MacDonough, who all these details were passed up to by subordinates that he then sat on for a decade. A man who has been dead-silent on this issue.

If Bowman and Q are to be brought back in it should be through the lower ranks first and they should have to earn their previous roles back. Being away from the game for a few years isn't enough. It just doesn't feel right that Stan Bowman gets to come back and run one of the league's best teams right away.

As far as the on-ice product Bowman has a mixed bag of success. We're talking about it on the Hawks board now. His drafting and trades were 1000% crucial in getting the Hawks back to being an elite team from 2013-2015. That is undeniable. He also made bad decision after bad decision from the 2015 offseason onwards aside from originally signing Panarin. I'm not sure he has had the pulse of the league for the last 8 years. I don't believe he's good at identifying NHL talent and I don't believe his idea of roster construction will translate.

Best of luck to the Oilers going forward, I was rooting for you guys to win it all last year.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and weigh in. Appreciated.

As to whether this is the right move for the Org the Oilers have had a tendency to look at Managers best work rather than full body of work and so that has cost us at times so there is that. But I'm not seeing a Chiarelli here and not Holland either. I think somebody that might be better as a manager.

That said my overall view on Holland is he did well enough here. Good moves and bad as is the case with most GM's.

 

[McTonyBrar]

I really think that's what the Oilers may come to regret.

If outside management, namely other GMs, don't like Stan Bowman, making deals with other teams could prove to be a real challenge.

And then there's the question of trying to recruit UFAs or players with NTC/NMC to come to Edmonton too.

Just one more obstacle to trying to build a Stanley Cup winning team.

A needless one as well. We could've hired ANYONE

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Plausible deniability. Easier to say "JJ did what he did, my job is to play."

Lying is not a good look regardless of the reason. Either they didn't consult the players or they did and are hiding something.

 

[Canovin]

Apparently Bowman and Jackson are very close. Gazzola stated its not a Katz hire. Katz gave him a chance to hire his GM choice and Jackson went with Bowman.

I hope they are close because he can get the job done and not because they are f***ing close friends

I don't think they're close. I think he said something about them both being assistant GMs in the past and he can relate to that.