Edmonton Oilers hire Stan Bowman as general manager

Stan Bowman was named general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations by the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, returning to the NHL after nearly three years on the sidelines due to what the league called an “inadequate response” to sexual assault allegations by former player Kyle Beach during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bowman was reinstated by the NHL on July 1, along with former Blackhawks executive Al MacIsaac and head coach Joel Quenneville. The league said they were both eligible to return to work after expressing remorse and using the time off to participate in programs focused on the importance of effectively and meaningfully addressing alleged abuse.

“I can tell you in this room and everyone watching, and I can tell you something I said directly to Kyle Beach, that my response in 2010 was inadequate,” said Bowman, who added that he called Beach Tuesday night to give him a “heads-up” about being hired in Edmonton. “I didn’t handle things right. I should have done more. And that’s something I regret, and it’s something I’ve had a chance to reflect on and try to learn from.”

The #Oil guns have appointed Stan Bowman as General Manager & Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 24, 2024

Bowman received a significant message of support earlier this month from Sheldon Kennedy, whose Respect Group works inside and outside the NHL to make hockey a more inclusive and safe environment by working to identify and eradicate bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination. Kennedy said Bowman, Quenneville and MacIsaac reached out to him after their suspensions, but only Bowman received such a lengthy, detailed message of support.

“I was immediately impressed by Stan’s genuine care and concern for Kyle, and what could have been done differently,” Kennedy wrote. “During that time, we talked almost daily about the seriousness of sexual abuse from the perspective of the victim. We didn’t talk about hockey at all. We focused on what went wrong, what he could have done differently, and most importantly, what could be done to prevent this from happening again.”

Kennedy even went so far as to attend Bowman’s introductory press conference on Wednesday. Oilers president Jeff Jackson also spoke with Kennedy and said he wouldn’t have hired Bowman without knowing the work he had done with Kennedy.

“What happened to Kyle Beach in 2010 was wrong, it was terrible,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t handled properly at the time. I think Stan has acknowledged the inadequate response and taken full responsibility for it. But I also know that he’s spent a lot of time in the 2 1/2 years since then educating himself, trying to learn.”

Kennedy wrote that seeing people “accept the truth” and “show a willingness to change” gives him hope in his work.

“Stan is an example of this to me,” he wrote, adding that Bowman’s “desire to acknowledge his mistakes and make amends with Kyle was genuine.”

At Kennedy’s invitation, Bowman worked “almost full-time,” Kennedy said, building and running a repair shop for three Western Hockey League teams, using his own failure in the Aldrich case as an example.

In the wake of the Jenner & Block report that immediately led to his ouster in Chicago, Bowman placed much of the blame on then-President John McDonough. Kennedy’s letter suggested that Bowman now take more ownership of his role in the organization’s failures.

“Stan spoke of how he personally should have been relentless in following up on every conversation and every accusation, rather than relying on others to do so,” Kennedy wrote.

Bowman said he hopes to use his new platform to improve the culture within the Oilers organization and in hockey as a whole.

“I want it,” he said. “What I really believe in is that there is an ability to create change and learn from situations and grow from them. That’s what I look for. … What happened to Sheldon and Kyle is horrible. Fortunately, it’s not as common as other things that happen on teams — intimidation, hazing, bullying. Those are probably more common. We all want to get rid of that.”

Bowman, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, takes over an Oilers team that fell one win short of a championship last season. He was hired by Jackson, who had been serving as interim GM since the organization parted ways with Ken Holland after the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bowman’s experience with star players — he had Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in Chicago, and now he has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton — and building around them appealed to Jackson. Bowman arrives in Edmonton with major organizational decisions ahead, as Draisaitl is eligible to test free agency next summer and McDavid is under contract for just two more seasons.

Top defenseman Evan Bouchard is also set for a big payday when his current contract expires after the 2024-25 season. Extending the team’s win-now window will be a major priority.

“Leon is a star player, he’s my top priority,” Bowman said. “I want Leon to be an Oiler for life. He’s a fantastic player, I’ve enjoyed watching him play and I think what sets him and Connor apart from pretty much everybody else in the game is they’re stars, for sure, but they’re a rare breed that can elevate their game in the playoffs. They’re obviously a big part of what we do. But it takes a team to win.”

Bowman served as the Blackhawks’ general manager for 12 years until resigning in October 2021 after a report from law firm Jenner & Block detailed the organization’s inadequate internal procedures and its untimely handling of allegations made by Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 playoffs.

The report reveals that there was a meeting in which Bowman and five other team executives discussed the allegations against Aldrich after the Blackhawks won the Western Conference Finals. It was decided that the hockey operations staff would focus exclusively on on-ice matters in the lead-up to the Stanley Cup Finals. A three-week period would elapse before any action was taken.

The NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million following the publication of the Jenner & Block report.

In addition to relinquishing his roles as president of hockey operations and general manager in Chicago, Bowman also stepped down as general manager for Team USA’s participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Jackson said he respects the opinions of fans who don’t like the appointment, but that he’s “not worried about it.” Bowman said he still has work to do to earn the fans’ trust.

“One thing I’ve learned over time is that it’s really hard to convince people,” Bowman said. “So I’m not going to try to argue why they should feel a certain way. I respect the way they feel. What I would say is my job is to try to win them over. The goal is to do that through your actions rather than what you say. 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 keep doing it. I’m here to make a difference.”

Bowman is the son of legendary coach Scotty Bowman. The 51-year-old was president of hockey operations and assistant GM in Chicago before being promoted to GM in 2009, where he oversaw teams that won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

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(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)