July 24, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers held a press conference to introduce Stan Bowman as the team’s new General Manager and Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations on Wednesday morning. Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson was also a part of the press conference.

The press conference began with Jackson’s opening remarks. He spoke about how his and Bowman’s visions for the team align, and he called Bowman “forward thinking and progressive”. Jackson said that he “…kept coming back to fact that Stan with his experience as a general manager and his success in Chicago, having won three Cups during his tenure there, having gone through and learned a lot about himself and about the need to try to make a difference in hockey culture, I just coming back to he was the guy.”

Related: Oilers name Stan Bowman GM & EVP of Hockey Operations

Jackson also made a point of addressing the elephant in the room in his opening remarks: “I know that some of you are going to have questions about Stan’s tenure in Chicago. Let me be very clear: what happened to Kyle Beach in 2010 was wrong. It was horrible. It wasn’t handled properly at the time. I think Stan has acknowledged and taken full responsibility for the inadequate response; but I also know that he has spent a great deal of time in the two and a half years since then to educate himself, to try to learn. 

He’s done a lot of work with Sheldon Kennedy, who’s one of the foremost experts in the field of abuse, sexual and otherwise, and has, I think he came out last week with his op ed supporting Stan… part of my process was talking to Sheldon because I know that he had done with Stan over the years, and when I talked to Sheldon a couple weeks ago, he gave a full endorsement of Stan’s work, his commitment, the fact that he’s sure that he learned from his mistakes; so that was a big part of the decision for me. We wouldn’t have made this hire without knowing that Stan had done all that work. Sheldon asked if he could be here today to support Stan. We’re honoured that he’s here. I have a long relationship with Sheldon that goes back twenty, 25 years all the way back to the start of the Respect Group when it was in its infancy, and I respect his opinion on this. I’m glad that he’s here today.

So in closing, I’m very excited to welcome Stan. I’m super excited to work alongside him as we try to be an elite organization both on and off the ice, and I’m sure Stan’s going to bring not only his hockey acumen, but the things that he’s learned in the last couple of years to make us a better organization and help us create a culture, a really good culture around our great sport.”

Bowman also addressed his departure from the Blackhawks organization in his opening remarks:

“I’ve had a chance to reflect on things over the last couple of years since I’ve been out of the game, so I’d like to kind of look forward to where we’re headed with the organization and my role, so I’m not here to relitigate the past; but I do think it’s important to start off by touching on my departure from the Blackhawks a couple seasons ago. 

I can tell you in this room and everyone watching, as well as something that I’ve said directly to Kyle Beach as well, that my response was inadequate back in 2010. I didn’t handle things properly. I should’ve done more, and that’s something that I regret, and it’s something that I’ve had a chance to reflect on and try to learn from…I’ve had a chance to get to know some people in the last couple of years, Sheldon Kennedy being one of them. In addition to Sheldon, I’ve had a chance to work with his group. I’ve also had a chance to work with Kyle Beach and other people; and in that process, I feel like I’ve learned some things that I didn’t know and I’ve learned ways that I could do a better job in the future, and I can tell you without a doubt that those things will never happen on my watch again. 

I’m looking forward to a chance to make a difference in the organization, and my work with Sheldon has encompassed a couple of different areas, in particular with working on the culture of hockey, and I think the situation with Kyle Beach back in 2010 I think it’s become something that we’ve talked a lot about, and I guess to summarize, it would be you know, we want to try to make this a better place for the sport better, and I think we can all handle situations better, and the only way to do that is to learn from the mistakes that were made and try to improve, and I’m committed to that… I know how important it is that I be a true leader, and that’s something that I’m excited about and that I look forward to.”

Bob Stauffer asked Bowman about his interactions with Kyle Beach since 2010 and prior to accepting this position with the Oilers. Bowman said that he called Beach on Tuesday night to make him aware of the decision, and they had a nice fifteen minute conversation. Bowman went on to outline how he ended up working with the team that Beach coaches. Bowman tried to reach out to Beach after he left the Blackhawks in 2021, but Beach did not respond. Kennedy told Bowman that was understandable and that Beach might not have been ready to talk to him at that time, but he encouraged Bowman to reach back out eventually. The two eventually connected with a 90 minute conversation in which they rehashed what happened in 2010 and started catching up on life since then. Bowman talked about his work with the Respect group and about the charter of respect for hockey teams that he had been working on with the Respect group, and Beach was impressed by that and said that he wished his team had something like that. That’s where the idea of them working together originated.

Jackson also added a statement about contacting Beach later in the press conference. Jackson said that he spoke with Beach a couple of weeks ago and that they had a nice conversation where Beach was supportive of Bowman’s reinstatement to the NHL. Jackson also said that he talked to Oilers owner Daryl Katz and other members of senior management within the Oilers Entertainment Group about the decision, but he did not talk to any of the players about it. That includes Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who are up for new contracts in the next two seasons. 

Jason Gregor asked Bowman a great question about how he will be able to use his position to “further the cause”. Bowman’s response was “[w]ell I want to, Jason. What I really believe in is there is ability to make change and to learn from situations and to grow from them.” Bowman went on to address the charter that he has worked on with the Respect Group and how it can help improve the culture within teams. Bowman’s response seemed to be strictly focussed on the culture of an individual hockey organization, and not about hockey culture as a whole or about the larger issue of sexual abuse in society as a whole.

I felt that Bowman appeared to be genuine in his remorse for his actions in 2010, and his work with Kennedy and the Respect Group is evidence of that. I’m glad that he has shown such a desire to learn from his mistake and to learn about how he could handle such situations better in the future. It’s clear that Jackson did his due diligence before making this hire by talking to Kennedy and Beach about it as well as Katz and senior managers of OEG. I think that Beach’s support of Bowman’s reinstatement is huge, and I’m happy to hear that they have talked and have actually worked together to improve the culture at Trinity Western University, where Beach is an Assistant Coach.

Related: On Stan Bowman: Part One – The Scandal

I’ll be clear in saying that I still do not feel that this was the right hiring decision after this press conference though. It’s clear that many fans feel the same way as I do based on the online reaction to the news on Wednesday morning. Bowman was asked about the fans’ reaction to his hiring, and he had this to say:

“One thing I’ve learned over time is it’s very difficult to talk people into things, so I’m not going to try to make an argument on why they should feel a certain way. I respect the way that they feel. What I would say is it’s going to be my job to try to win them over. The goal is to try to do it through your actions as opposed to what you’re saying. I understand where they’re coming from and I want to try to earn their respect over time. It may not come right away, but that’s okay. I’m going to stick with it. I’m here to make a difference.”

I liked that response from Bowman. He understands that he will have to earn any trust that might eventually be granted to him by the Oilers fan base, and that the only way to earn trust is through actions rather than words. Bowman spoke about the importance of having the support of the fans in his opening remarks. He offered words about how Oilers fans are the best in the league after watching the team’s playoff run this past spring, but he will need to do a lot more than that to earn the trust of Oilers fans.

Jackson was also asked about the fans’ reaction to this hiring:

“I think fans are entitled always to their opinion. They have opinions about firing coaches and making trades and everything else. I think that the decision to bring Stan in is one that is in the best interest of the organization for a number of reasons that I touched on in the opening, so I mean, I have to respect the fans’ opinions. I think that Stan’s work over the next few years here will dictate how they respond… I’m not worried about it. My job is to try to make an elite organization and have people that are collaborative and progressive and good people, and I think that Stan is all of those things.”

Jackson is unfortunately correct based on what we’ve seen play out many times before in professional sports. Someone does something awful, they go away for a while, then a new team brings them aboard and people get angry about it initially, but then forget about it once play starts. Winning seems to solve a lot of problems, which isn’t right in my opinion. Sports executives have proven time and time again that they only care about one thing, which is winning. Jackson has unfortunately proven himself to not be any different in this situation, which is extremely disappointing given the circumstances. 

Jackson was definitely wrong to say that he isn’t worried about the fans’ reaction though. That’s an awful look for him and the franchise. The fact that he made his Twitter account private on Tuesday night, which ended up being hours before announcing this hiring, says that he knew that fans would be upset by this hiring and that he cared enough to make his account private. To have Jackson say that he isn’t worried about the fans’ reaction after Bowman speaking about the importance of fan support and about having a goal to win them over through his actions makes Jackson look terrible.

Tom Gazzola asked Jackson and Bowman about what the working dynamic between them will look like. Jackson said that “the model that we’re going to have here in Edmonton is that we’re going to work as a team. Stan’s the general manager. He’ll run the team day to day, but I’ve said this over the last month when I’ve been asked several times if I wanted to be the GM. I’m an active CEO. What that means is that I’m talking to the general manager often, I’m talking to the coach often, I’m not meddling, but I have my input… I’m very confident that we’ll work really well together, bounce stuff off each other. When we’re doing the negotiations we’ll do them together. [Bowman] will take the lead, and I’ll be there to support.”

Related: On Stan Bowman: Part Two – The Hockey Perspective

Bowman talked about how Draisaitl is a priority to him and about how he wants Draisaitl to be an Oiler for life. He also spoke glowingly about the roster that Jackson has assembled. Bowman said that the hardest part of building a team is getting stars, and the Oilers have already done that. While this situation is similar to the situation in Chicago when he became the GM of the Blackhawks, it’s different because Bowman had been a member of the Blackhawks organization since 2005 and he knew all of the players before accepting the GM job. He also spoke about wanting to look forward. He spoke about the playoff run and about how close the team got. While he wants the penalty kill to be spectacular again next season, he realizes that life doesn’t always work that way and there’s a chance that it won’t be that hot again next season. Bowman believes in looking to the future and how to be better in the future rather than trying to recreate something that happened in the past, which is the right way to look at it in my opinion.

As I stated in my piece this morning and earlier in this piece, I don’t think this was the right decision by Jackson and the Oilers. There were several fantastic candidates out there that don’t have Bowman’s baggage. While it’s great that Bowman seemed genuine in his remorse and in his work with Kennedy and the Respect Group, it was the wrong decision to bring Bowman into such a large role so quickly after being reinstated by the league. Jackson sewered whatever good will he had built with the fans after making several great roster decisions in the first two weeks of July with this decision. It’s a disappointing decision to say the very least.

Related: Oilers GM Candidates: Part Four – The Big Reveal

I mentioned this in my piece this morning, but I’ll share it again here. While I’m disappointed in the decision, my attitude is that if you’re upset about Bowman not doing enough to support a victim of sexual assault, then you should do something to support victims of sexual assault in our community. You can do that by donating to the Sexual Assualt Centre of Edmonton (SACE) on their website or through my personal donation page. My goal is to raise $1000 for SACE by the end of the month, so please donate if you’re in a position to help and the cause resonates with you.

SACE released a statement on Bowman’s hiring on Wednesday:

SACE statement on the Edmonton Oilers hiring Stan Bowman. #Edmonton #Oilers pic.twitter.com/nJMScz0bac

— SACE (@sacetalks) July 24, 2024

I plan to write more on this subject in future piece, but I agree in saying that offering support to SACE would be agreat way for the organization to prove to the community that they want to be a part of the solution and to do something meaningful to not only make hockey culture better, but to make our scoiety better as a whole.