Oilers to hire Stan Bowman as GM

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

I 100% agree, not sure who/what you are trying to argue about.

How bout this.... he's clearly willing to put morals and ethics aside if he thinks it will increase his teams chance to win.

I'm just saying he's willing to put morals and ethics aside, whether it increases his team's chance to win or not.

Apart from the play-in round in 2020, the Hawks haven't won a playoff series since 2015. But Bowman kept the coverup going until 2021. That wasn't about helping the team win.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I'm just saying he's willing to put morals and ethics aside, whether it increases his team's chance to win or not.

Apart from the play-in round in 2020, the Hawks haven't won a playoff series since 2015. But Bowman kept the coverup going until 2021. That wasn't about helping the team win.

Yup. He freakin' wrote a letter of recommendation. Which led to a second assault.

[Whynotnow]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Yup. He freakin' wrote a letter of recommendation. Which led to a second assault.

No, he didn’t. Im not defending the move, I’m on record against it, but the part of the letter of recommendation is factually inaccurate as it never occurred.

That said, you can certainly allege that had they taken more immediate action he might not have gotten hired anywhere else and the second assault may not have occurred then.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Yup. He freakin' wrote a letter of recommendation. Which led to a second assault.

Apparently Stan didn't write a letter of recommendation.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackha...ons-to-dismiss


I actually missed this. Did this actually get dismissed, or did Bowman really write that letter?


However, how in the hell did this guy get his 'day with the cup'? Seems to me that this was yet another missed opportunity in a whole series of missed opportunities to try and do something right.
https://www.tsn.ca/rick-westhead-ald...awye-1.1700663


By this time, it is more than obvious that nothing at all was being done, and there is no excusing the lack of action on Stan Bowman's part. I am actually going to go back on my initial reaction to all of this when I said that - as long as he put in the work and tried to make amends - that everyone deserves a second chance.


In my opinion, Bowman had 1st, 2nd, 3rd and how many other countless chances and opportunities to do the right thing? Is it only counted as a second chance once you get caught? He was in a position of power and did nothing to protect anyone with that power - he allowed someone else much lower than him in a position of power to use that power to rape, threaten and who knows what else. Now he is being put straight back into a position of power right from the get-go?



I have never really thought of how many opportunities Bowman had to do something right for the victims that he held responsibility for. His inaction made him further complicit in Aldrich than raping a minor. To imagine Aldrich having his day with the cup in the middle of all of this?



The saving grace in all of this is the 2nd lawsuit filed. To hire Bowman even though this 2nd lawsuit is pending makes this hire more stupid.


However, considering that a 2nd pending lawsuit is in the works, why in the hell did the NHL choose to reinstate Bowman? Logically, they should probably wait until that one is over with, no? Must have been the Oilers really pushing for this.

[Eubee]

Someone should ask DK,JJ, CK and especially McDavid if the Oilers would still have made this move, if one of their family members had ever been raped/sexually assaulted.

Or would that have changed the way they considered how the hire reflects on them and the organization. Especially in the eyes of the their family that suffered through it.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

Wasn't there a rumor that the Oilers were going to hire Mark Hunter as GM, then have Bowman as the VP above him or something? What happened there? Did they decide Hunter wasn't scummy enough after the interview?

Hunter didn't want the job for many reasons. First, he is comfortable being with London. Second, he probably talked to Ken Holland and got the scoop on why he did not have any interest in renewing which is three, both their stars are going to leave. I think Bowman thinks he can convince both guys to stay and maybe if he throws an obscene amount at Draisaitl it works for him but I doubt it. Once guys get engaged/married the most influential person deciding on these things is their new partner. Draisaitl is with an actress, a low key one but still an actress. I guarantee you she knows all the ins and outs of location mattering when it comes to endorsements and marketing.

If I had to bet money on how this thing plays out they are going to walk both guys to UFA. They almost have to.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Mark Hunter and his brother are used to running things their own way, and while they'd entertain offers from elsewhere, the meddlesome organizational structure of the Oilers (with ownership on down to alumni) would be a headache.

[Azure]

End of the day even if Bowman has gone and repaired and made right relationships with people like Beach there are still consequences for actions.

Because he used his position as GM of the Hawks to cover up abuse, part of the consequence should be that should never be able to hold another position like that.

No, it doesn't mean that Bowman hasn't done right by going and trying to fix the wrongs he has done, but it sets a precedent that people who use positions of authority, specifically GM of a NHL team, to cover up abuse, they will lose that position and will never get it back.

Again, has nothing to do with the efforts Bowman has made to right his wrongs. However, regardless of the effort, there are consequences.

Also, given that FACT that hockey has a tainted image BECAUSE of issues like sexual abuse, and the FACT that 4 NHL players were basically kicked out of the league after Hockey Canada & other high level hockey people covered up sexual abuse, it sure seems pretty tone-deaf not only for the NHL to reinstate someone who himself covered up abuse, but also the Oilers for hiring him when there are absolutely 100% for sure better candidates. And even if there are not better candidates, Bowman's supposed abilities as a GM do not justify the hiring.

This isn't even a 'oh its 2024' we should know better issue. It is 2024 and we should know better, however at the same time this to me is society, or in this case an organization like the NHL not being willing to accept that actions have consequences, and because the consequences are not properly applied and HELD TOO, the action that resulted in all of this will almost certainly repeat itself.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Azure

End of the day even if Bowman has gone and repaired and made right relationships with people like Beach there are still consequences for actions.

Because he used his position as GM of the Hawks to cover up abuse, part of the consequence should be that should never be able to hold another position like that.

No, it doesn't mean that Bowman hasn't done right by going and trying to fix the wrongs he has done, but it sets a precedent that people who use positions of authority, specifically GM of a NHL team, to cover up abuse, they will lose that position and will never get it back.

Again, has nothing to do with the efforts Bowman has made to right his wrongs. However, regardless of the effort, there are consequences.

Also, given that FACT that hockey has a tainted image BECAUSE of issues like sexual abuse, and the FACT that 4 NHL players were basically kicked out of the league after Hockey Canada & other high level hockey people covered up sexual abuse, it sure seems pretty tone-deaf not only for the NHL to reinstate someone who himself covered up abuse, but also the Oilers for hiring him when there are absolutely 100% for sure better candidates. And even if there are not better candidates, Bowman's supposed abilities as a GM do not justify the hiring.

This isn't even a 'oh its 2024' we should know better issue. It is 2024 and we should know better, however at the same time this to me is society, or in this case an organization like the NHL not being willing to accept that actions have consequences, and because the consequences are not properly applied and HELD TOO, the action that resulted in all of this will almost certainly repeat itself.

Does this happen in any other industries? Not sure how you could enforce that. Once his suspension was lifted teams will hire him to do whatever they think he’d add value at. If they wanted to hire him.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Does this happen in any other industries? Not sure how you could enforce that. Once his suspension was lifted teams will hire him to do whatever they think he’d add value at. If they wanted to hire him.

You wouldn't need to enforce it if you didn't have garbage organizations like the Oilers hiring them or offering them contracts. It's not like other teams were lining up for Kane, Virtanen, Perry, or Bowman. It's not like any other industry except other major league sports. There are 32 positions available in the entire world. It's takes 32 organizations to say no to enforce it. But the Oilers are trash and don't care.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I'm just saying he's willing to put morals and ethics aside, whether it increases his team's chance to win or not.

Apart from the play-in round in 2020, the Hawks haven't won a playoff series since 2015. But Bowman kept the coverup going until 2021. That wasn't about helping the team win.

Totally agree, his actions (or inactions) were garbage.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Apparently Stan didn't write a letter of recommendation.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackha...ons-to-dismiss


I actually missed this. Did this actually get dismissed, or did Bowman really write that letter?

Well, it is odd that if there was no recommendation, a plaintiff would just make that specific claim up out of whole cloth. It stinks.

It doesn't appear that motion was successful.

[SutterBrother]

Originally Posted by stang

Update: Got this in response to my email.

And the child who got raped as a result of Bowman's inaction?

What has he done there?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Well, it is odd that if there was no recommendation, a plaintiff would just make that specific claim up out of whole cloth. It stinks.

It doesn't appear that motion was successful.

Not that I am on Bowman's side in the least, but it appears that there was no letter of recommendation. The plaintiff would not have had the visibility of the letter unless the investigation resulted in at least a copy of it being discovered and entered into evidence. No copy was ever found apparently. It seems like the the school did not do their due diligence in their hiring practices of Aldrich, unfortunately. Everything I have read has not produced any evidence of a letter or reference of any sort provided by the Chicago Blackhawk's organization.



However, this doesn't relieve any of Bowman's guilt. What's even better than a letter of recommendation? How about your name engraved on the cup, and having your day with it full of pictures and so on?


Bowman found out during the playoffs, but the 'pressure to win' kept him (and others) silent. Ok, I don't agree with this abhorrent behaviour at all, but at least there is some sort of an explanation as to why they chose to keep it in. When they won, and the pressure was off, why not deal with it then? Why continue the silence? There were numerous times at which Bowman could have stepped forward and said or done something, but chose not to. Now he gets to jump back in the exact same position of power again, and the crazy thing is that it isn't like the roster is full of angels here - there are some players who have had scandals and 'incidents', and you put this guy in charge of them? I hope this sends Edmonton down the fastest and most embarrassing spiral imaginable.

[SutterBrother]

I think it was Tortorella who said words to the effect of "I don't understand how you have that meeting and someone doesn't leave in handcuffs".

This is the the lens through which this should be viewed. It's is compounded so hard by the further sexual assaults that happened because they took no action until the very public lawsuit 10 years later.

You can tell how much Stan Bowman cares by his comments about "history" and "moving on" without every addressing the downstream victims he helped create.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SutterBrother

I think it was Tortorella who said words to the effect of "I don't understand how you have that meeting and someone doesn't leave in handcuffs".

This is the the lens through which this should be viewed. It's is compounded so hard by the further sexual assaults that happened because they took no action until the very public lawsuit 10 years later.

You can tell how much Stan Bowman cares by his comments about "history" and "moving on" without every addressing the downstream victims he helped create.

Thats...yeah. Pretty much sums up my thoughts on it.

"Put out an Ad for a new Video Coach."

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Not that I am on Bowman's side in the least, but it appears that there was no letter of recommendation. The plaintiff would not have had the visibility of the letter unless the investigation resulted in at least a copy of it being discovered and entered into evidence. No copy was ever found apparently. It seems like the the school did not do their due diligence in their hiring practices of Aldrich, unfortunately. Everything I have read has not produced any evidence of a letter or reference of any sort provided by the Chicago Blackhawk's organization.



However, this doesn't relieve any of Bowman's guilt. What's even better than a letter of recommendation? How about your name engraved on the cup, and having your day with it full of pictures and so on?


Bowman found out during the playoffs, but the 'pressure to win' kept him (and others) silent. Ok, I don't agree with this abhorrent behaviour at all, but at least there is some sort of an explanation as to why they chose to keep it in. When they won, and the pressure was off, why not deal with it then? Why continue the silence? There were numerous times at which Bowman could have stepped forward and said or done something, but chose not to. Now he gets to jump back in the exact same position of power again, and the crazy thing is that it isn't like the roster is full of angels here - there are some players who have had scandals and 'incidents', and you put this guy in charge of them? I hope this sends Edmonton down the fastest and most embarrassing spiral imaginable.

I still find it odd that there would be a specific reference to such a letter in the claim. I suppose the victim may have heard that Bowman recommended Aldrich and that escalated into a letter. Because who knows what could have been said in a call? Or maybe the recommendation was implied and that turned into a letter.

Most people would realize that even a tacit recommendation would be offside. But not only does Bowman have no legal experience, he's been in the hockey world all his life and they play by different rules, or at least they used to.

[mjk123]

Not a good look. Hire someone internally or find someone else. Why do these guys keep getting opportunities.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Does this happen in any other industries? Not sure how you could enforce that. Once his suspension was lifted teams will hire him to do whatever they think he’d add value at. If they wanted to hire him.

It was enforced for years on Ted Nolan, but that was a different situation. He pissed off someone in the old boys club, he was not a member of the old boys club who got suspended.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

It was enforced for years on Ted Nolan, but that was a different situation. He pissed off someone in the old boys club, he was not a member of the old boys club who got suspended.

And most importantly - Indigenous. We come closer and closer to understanding how white the NHL was and still is with each passing year. And you have to know it was likely 20X worse 2-3 decades ago.