July 29, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

I have composed letters to Edmonton Oilers General Manager and Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman, Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson, and Oilers owner Daryl Katz expressing my disappointment in the decision to bring Bowman aboard due to Bowman’s actions in 2010 and what the organization hiring him says about those actions. While I’m disappointed in the decision, I also see an opportunity for Bowman and the Oilers organzation to do some good in the community. My letter to Mr. Bowman is available in part one of this piece. My letters to Mr. Jackson and Mr. Katz are below:

Related: Open Letters to Bowman, Jackson, and Katz: Part One – To Mr. Bowman

To Mr. Jackson,

I think I speak for many Oilers fans when I say that the decision to hire Mr. Bowman was extremely disappointing. I feel that you made several great hires in your first year with the Oilers. I also feel that you and your team did a great job with the draft and the start of the free agency period this summer. However, the decision to hire Mr. Bowman has undone all of the good will that you had accumulated with many Oilers fans.

I felt that your comment about not being worried about the fans’ negative reaction during Bowman’s introductory press conference was in poor taste. The fact that you made your X account private the night before this decision was announced shows that you understood how this decision would be received, and your comments showed a flippant disregard for the feelings of the fans, the people that pay their hard earned money to support your organization. I understand that winning is the most important thing to a professional sports team and that your job is to build a team that will win; but that goal was possible to achieve without hiring Mr. Bowman. You may have already done that with your roster moves this summer.

I appreciate that you did your due diligence in talking to Sheldon Kennedy and Kyle Beach about this decision before you made it. Their support matters. However, I don’t think that the benefit of choosing Mr. Bowman over one of the other candidates that you interviewed for this position merits the black mark that this decision has put on the Oilers franchise or the likely impact on season ticket and merchandise sales that will result from this decision.

You also talked about the mandatory training that all staff members of the Oilers Entertainment Group have to take. While it’s great that that training exists, that’s not what matters. What matters more is what the organization will do to increase awareness and prevention of sexual assault outside of the organization in the future, especially after the decision to hire Mr. Bowman.

You said that you’re “…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.” I hope that you, Mr. Bowman, and the Oilers organization will go beyond creating a better culture in hockey by raising awareness about sexual assault in society as a whole and by supporting initiatives that aim to reduce future instances of sexual assault.

To Mr. Katz,

You have done a lot of fantastic things for the Edmonton Oilers organization. You brought financial stability to the team. You got the team a wonderful new arena to call home. The Ice District project has brought life to Edmonton’s downtown core. Your passion for the Oilers and the city of Edmonton has not gone unnoticed.

However, your strong desire to win has come with a cost. Mr. Jackson said that you and other members of senior management with the Oilers Entertainment Group were consulted about hiring Mr. Bowman, and he was allowed to be hired. You had the power to stop this black mark from being placed on your team, but you allowed it to happen. 

I understand that Mr. Jackson feels that Mr. Bowman gives the Oilers the best chance to win and you have shown that you are willing to do whatever it takes to win, but decisions have consequences. I know full well that while Rogers Place will not be empty this season, this decision will cost the Oilers some season seat holders and merchandise sales. 

The decision to hire Mr. Bowman is an extremely disappointing one. Mr. Jackson’s blatant disregard for the concerns of the fans regarding this decision was also disappointing. These are the fans that spend their hard earned money on tickets to hockey games with inflated concession prices and expensive merchandise that allows them to represent the team they love. The decision to hire Mr. Bowman brings a new meaning to the logo that a lot of people do not want to represent, which was a totally preventable outcome.

Let’s not forget that, as far as my research shows, Bob Nicholson is still a member of the OEG. While he is not listed on the Oilers’ website anymore, he is still listed as an Alternate Governor with OEG even after his involvement with using a slush fund to cover up multiple incidences of sexual assault involving Hockey Canada athletes became public knowledge. Your organization now employs two of the biggest names that have been involved in covering up instances of sexual assault in this century.

It appears to be all in the name of winning. Mr. Bowman has won three Stanley Cups. Mr. Nicholson was involved in many international competition wins for Hockey Canada. We can’t forget that Ken Holland also won three Stanley Cups before being hired by the Oilers, and that Peter Chiarelli had won a Stanley Cup before being hired by the Oilers.

Here’s the thing though: the Oilers have won absolutely nothing under any of those people! Your organization appears to be stuck on the idea of past success leading to future success. That’s not always how that works, and we have seen it play out in front of our very eyes over the course of your ownership of the team. That’s something that even Mr. Bowman addressed in his introductory press conference. He spoke about the importance of looking forward rather than trying to recreate something that was successful in the past. It feels like the hirings of Mr. Bowman, Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Chiarelli, and Mr. Holland were all efforts to repeat successes of the past in Edmonton; and it hasn’t been successful in Edmonton. I feel that a different decision was needed this time from a social and a hockey standpoint. I hope to be proven wrong.

Mr. Bowman spoke about how it is his job to win the fans over with his actions. In this case, actions that could potentially win over any fans won’t be hockey related. Mr. Bowman alluded to wanting to make a difference in the organization and wanting to continue to give his time and to be devoted to improving hockey culture. The best way that he can do that is by becoming a loud voice for sexual assault awareness and prevention. I implore you to allow that to happen. 

It shouldn’t just be up to Mr. Bowman though. I also implore you and the Oilers Entertainment Group to actively take a role in raising awareness of sexual assault and working to prevent future instances of sexual assault not just in hockey, but in the Edmonton community as well.

Wrap

The best way for Mr. Bowman and the Oilers organization to become leaders in raising awareness of sexual assault and in working to prevent future instances of sexual assault would be to support the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE). SACE offers free counselling for victims of sexual assault, and they also provide education aimed at the prevention of future instances of sexual assault. SACE released this statement after Mr. Bowman’s hiring was announced:

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

— SACE (@sacetalks) July 24, 2024

Both Jason Gregor and Bruce McCurdy have suggested that the team should support SACE, and I thank them for their words and their suggestions. I’ve seen multiple people suggest that SACE should be a recipient of an Oilers 50/50 fundraiser, which would be a great start. Regardless of the specifics of how it could be done, I also believe that supporting SACE would be the best way for Mr. Bowman and the Oilers organization to become leaders in increasing awareness and prevention of sexual assault in the Edmonton community and in hockey culture.

While I’m disappointed by Mr. Bowman’s hiring, I do hope that he and the Oilers organization will back up his words with actions that support SACE so that something positive will come out of this situation.