[TAS]

The Oilers have officially named Stan Bowman General Manager and I have one thing to say about it:

WTF!!!!

Bowman is not only the man who participated in the cover up of a horrific sexual scandal within the Blackhawks organisation but also is just not a very good GM.

I had heard that the GM job was going to be essentially a puppet for Jeff Jackson, who would make all the big decisions while the GM would simply do the day-to-day GM tasks. If this was the case though, why not hire someone from within the organisation. Not someone with this... baggage.

Awful decision, the Oilers organisation is going to be absolutely flamed for this.

He was endorsed by Sheldon Kennedy a couple of weeks ago after his reinstatement was announced by the league on July 1.

Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, co-founder of the Respect Group, released a statement earlier last week saying that he has worked closely with Bowman on several initiatives. In the statement, Kennedy said he feels Bowman “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 was with Chicago from 2009-21 as GM and then president of hockey operations - they won 3 Cups.

You don't think he deserves a second chance?

 

[Gus Haynes]

I don't get why we would hire this guy, even BEYOND his sexual assault mismanagement. He was not exactly a stellar GM!

 

[erudyk_29]

You don't think he deserves a second chance?

Short Answer: No

Longer Answer:

Bowman was directly involved in shielding Brad Aldrich from any punishment, deliberately and intentionally harboring a sex criminal. Not only this but he also gave him a reccomendation for another job after the Kyle Beach incident, where he assaulted another player.

He was endorsed by Sheldon Kennedy a couple of weeks ago after his reinstatement was announced by the league on July 1.

Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, co-founder of the Respect Group, released a statement earlier last week saying that he has worked closely with Bowman on several initiatives. In the statement, Kennedy said he feels Bowman “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.”

These are token gestures, whatever work Bowman did is not focused on a genuine attempt to improve and become a better person, but to get himself to a place where he can get exactly what he's gotten, another job in the league as a GM.

I highly doubt Stan Bowman has any genuine interest in becoming a better person and improving the toxic hockey culture.

He was with Chicago from 2009-21 as GM and then president of hockey operations - they won 3 Cups.

He may have won 3 Stanley Cups, but he inherited that core, he did not build the team that won those cups, the entire core: Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, etc were all drafted and developed prior to Bowman entering the organization. The moves he made towards the end of his tenure as Blackhawks GM were puzzling.


Even if Bowman does intend to be better and make changes for the better, regrets his actions, etc. It makes absolutely no sense why the Oilers would take on all his baggage at a time when they're positioned to win a Stanley Cup. There are literally dozens and dozens of people out there, whether they be former agents, analytics people, and even former players, some of which most of us have probably never heard of, who would make far better GM's than Bowman and do not come with the history that Bowman does.

This move makes no sense

 

[Gronk!]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816117218113118256

 

[Gus Haynes]

That's exactly the sort of tweet I'd expect from Rishaug, who seems more concerned with maintaining good relationships with Oilers management than providing critical coverage of anything.

 

[TAS]

Short Answer: No

Longer Answer:

Bowman was directly involved in shielding Brad Aldrich from any punishment, deliberately and intentionally harboring a sex criminal. Not only this but he also gave him a reccomendation for another job after the Kyle Beach incident, where he assaulted another player.



These are token gestures, whatever work Bowman did is not focused on a genuine attempt to improve and become a better person, but to get himself to a place where he can get exactly what he's gotten, another job in the league as a GM.

I highly doubt Stan Bowman has any genuine interest in becoming a better person and improving the toxic hockey culture.



He may have won 3 Stanley Cups, but he inherited that core, he did not build the team that won those cups, the entire core: Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, etc were all drafted and developed prior to Bowman entering the organization. The moves he made towards the end of his tenure as Blackhawks GM were puzzling.


Even if Bowman does intend to be better and make changes for the better, regrets his actions, etc. It makes absolutely no sense why the Oilers would take on all his baggage at a time when they're positioned to win a Stanley Cup. There are literally dozens and dozens of people out there, whether they be former agents, analytics people, and even former players, some of which most of us have probably never heard of, who would make far better GM's than Bowman and do not come with the history that Bowman does.

This move makes no sense

He definitely did inherit an amazing team of players.

 

[jason403]

This hiring should be cancelled and fast. Never mind the ethical and moral perspective, but there is no way that hiring someone such as this as the face of a franchise is good for business (look at Babcock hiring previously, which is 1/100th of this scale). Will be interesting to see if there will be enough momentum for sponsors pulling out, as I feel like someone like Bowman does not align with their mission or values. Jeff Jackson and Bob Nicholson should also be fired, but I feel like Jackson being so connected with McDavid may make this hard.

Prediction is that Bowman is gone within a week, and Nicholson takes the fall for this, as there is a lot of fan and organizational support for Jackson. Oilers will donate $1M to a sexual assault charity, and mandate entire organization of staff have sensitivity training regarding sexual assault. Either Jackson will be named interim GM for the year, or some old re-tread with a winning record be given the role (while Jackson named president of hockey operations).

 

[Greenspace]

Strange hire.