March 26, 2025 by Eric Friesen

Despite missing their top-two centres, the Edmonton Oilers extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) with a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place on Saturday night.

Following the game, General Manager Stan Bowman joined Scott Oake and Louie DeBrusk on After Hours on Sportsnet to discuss a wide range of topics surrounding the team. Chief among them was the health of superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who each remain sidelined due to injuries.

After playing all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year, Bowman believes that McDavid and Draisaitl having a week or two off before the playoffs could be a blessing a disguise.

“Thankfully, they’re not serious injuries,” said Bowman in the Hall of Fame room at Rogers Place on Saturday. “As far as the exact timeline, we don’t know that, but it’s not going to be a long time. So, I’m not concerned. I think you always want them back in the lineup and you want them there every night, but missing a little bit of time at this time of year probably isn’t the worst thing. So, I think Leon will probably be back before Connor, but I don’t think he’ll be too much after that.”

As a longtime hockey executive in the Western Conference, Bowman has followed McDavid and Draisaitl’s careers closely since they broke into the league a decade ago. Bowman saw them a lot when his former Chicago Blackhawks upset the Oilers in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff qualifying round. But now that he’s with the orange and blue, Bowman has an even greater appreciation for their world-class talents.

“Both of those players have been fun for me to watch this year,” Bowman added. “Having the chance to watch them on TV for all of those years is one thing, but to see them up close every day has been a real treat. There’s nobody like them that I’ve seen, and they lead our team in many, many ways.”

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With Draisaitl already signed through the 2032-33 season, Bowman’s most important piece of business in the off-season will be inking McDavid to a long-term deal. McDavid, who is still under contract for another season after this one at $12.5 million per, is eligible to sign an extension on July 1. While McDavid stated prior to training camp that he wasn’t focused on negotiating his next contract during the season, Bowman is confident they will get a deal done to keep McDavid in Edmonton.

“He’s the most important player we have here, so that is priority number one,” said Bowman. “We’ll get to that this summer. Now is probably not the time to be talking about that, but we all know Connor is going to be here and that we’re going to make it happen.”

Bowman made his biggest trade with the Oilers’ organization when he acquired Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and forward prospect Carl Berglund on March 6. Walman has four assists, a plus-five rating, 14 shots and 23 blocks in eight games since coming over to the Oilers. The 29-year-old defenceman has impressed Bowman with his mobility, effectiveness defensively and tendency to immediately transition the puck up ice.

“I’ve been very happy with Jake,” said Bowman. “I think he’s still getting adjusted to us, but he had a great first game out of the gate against Dallas. He made a nice play, he had a big hit. I think the biggest thing I notice with him is his skating and is ability to close plays off and get up the ice. He’s got a lot of comfort at the offensive blueline. He can can shake-and-bake guys, get off the blueline and get shots to the net.”