My Thoughts On The GM Hiring Of Stan Bowman

At the start of this offseason, Jeff Jackson was doing the impossible and uniting a fanbase that polarizes everything. From draft picks, to trades, to signings and re-signings, this was looking like the most perfect summer the Edmonton Oilers have ever had in the world of social media. The unity was fun while it lasted, and you knew it was serious when Jackson locked his Twitter account.

Stan Bowman was hired by the Oilers to be their new General Manager on Wednesday morning. Bowman was previously the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks until 2021 when he resigned after news of a past scandal broke out. Here’s a short, basic rundown of the story if you don’t know. There was a Blackhawks prospect named Kyle Beach, who was sexually assaulted by a video coach who worked for the team in the 2010 season. The organization chose to cover that up so it wouldn’t be a distraction during the Playoffs. They wound up winning their first of three Stanley Cups in the Kane/Toews era. Joel Quenneville was coaching the Florida Panthers when Kyle Beach opened up. He also needed to resign from his job and has now also been reinstated by the NHL. After an exhilarating Playoff run, being one win away from winning it all, this was an interesting way to kill the good vibes.

Just speaking about Bowman’s resume, even if you look past the scandal, is a mixed of opinions among Oilers fans. He had many other duties in Chicago before then GM Dale Tallon gave him the reigns. But Tallon was more responsible for laying the foundation that would lead to their winning culture. Bowman, to his credit, was a good enough caretaker to just keep most of the good things and have them stay competitive. You can forgive some of his moves after the 2010 Cup win because they needed to stay cap-compliant, and they still won two more Cups. But trading Artemi Panarin, Phillip Danault, and Teuvo Teravainen hasn’t aged well. Bowman’s draft record is hit-and-miss, and Kirby Dach is still an enigma even after leaving the Blackhawks. But Alex Vlasic is a good young defenseman and Alex DeBrincat is one of the best right wingers in the league. Andrew Shaw and Brandon Saad were good secondary pieces. You know the Darnell Nurse contract we all hate? He signed the Seth Jones extension that catapulted the market value at that time.

His job as the new GM is simple, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make any bad trades or signings that could pull back a good situation in Edmonton. I called him a caretaker in the last paragraph, and that’s all the Oilers really need. Not fancy, but functional. Another GM option could’ve done just that for the Oilers and they’d be less controversial. During the press conference, Jackson said that any future roster moves by the team will require the input of the entire management group and not just the GM. That’s perhaps enough to make us worry less about any stupid moves actually happening. Here’s hoping he learned from his track record.

Bowman stated that he was speaking to Kyle, catching up, and making amends before being hired. As much as this hiring rubs people the wrong way, it’s at least a good sign that the two started talking to each other. Hearing that made some fans feel more at ease with Wednesday’s news. People deserve second chances in life, and Edmonton has become the home of second chances is recent years. I just think Bowman’s second chance may’ve come a little too soon. It’s great that he’s tried putting in the work to better himself, but I also understand the feeling from others that he could’ve waited to get back into the league instead of right away. Some people have said that the reaction to this is just another sign of cancel culture. But being the boy who cried canceled is not a bigger priority than a crucial position being sought accountability for a heinous crime. After a town hall with Blackhawks management back in 2022, where a question about Kyle Beach received a tense answer, Wayne Gretzky said this…

“I’m sitting here thinking, as a parent, you’re sitting there going, ‘My son is 18 years old and he’s going to maybe be drafted by that team.’ I want to know my 18-year-old son is going to be protected.”

How might all the parents of Edmonton’s latest draft selections feel about this hiring? How might past sexual assault victims themselves feel? If there’s any potential level of anxiety among them, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to show empathy. Stan Bowman said he’s worked on himself and spoken to Beach. Now he just can’t let that incident happen again. He said all he can do is try to win Oilers fans over; he understands how hard it’ll be for a lot of people to forgive him so quickly. The outrage won’t change the fact that he was hired. He needs to apply to his new team what he’s learned during his time off. If you feel that you need to send some sort of donation to a cause similar to this, feel free to do so.