Oilers to hire Stan Bowman as GM

[sch19lks]

HFOil is already starting to defend this move. Worst run franchise in professional sports. From top to bottom.

So they did one of two things. They either talked to McAvi and Pissy about this, or they didn’t.

So either the two dickheads signed off on this bonehead move, which signifies awful leadership. OR they didn’t, which most likely means they both leave Edmonton.

What a joke of an organization.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

I don't really get this hire for the Oilers.

Not sure why they decided to open themselves up to so much controversy over a guy who was pretty mediocre as a GM.

Pretty simple. His name is on the Stanley Cup, so he helps keep up the illusion that they can run it back and win it all this year.

Jeff Gorton made some really good moves that established the Bruins as a powerhouse. As interim GM, he traded for Rask, signed Chara, and drafted Kessel, Lucic, and Marchand. Chiarelli took over the team he built, canned him, and in due course won the Stanley Cup on the strength of another man's work. When Chiarelli's welcome wore out in Boston, the Oilers hired him.

Jimmy Devellano built the terrific scouting, coaching, and development systems that made the Detroit Red Wings a premier team in the league for more than two decades. He was kicked upstairs and replaced by Ken Holland, who won the Stanley Cup on the strength of another man's work. After Holland was done in Detroit, the Oilers hired him.

Dale Tallon built up the sad-sack Blackhawks into a contender, but his unforced error in re-signing several RFAs got him kicked into a back office with a view of an unplugged fax machine. He was replaced by Stan Bowman, who won the Stanley Cup on the strength of another man's work. It was inevitable that the Oilers would hire him. He has exactly the kind of resume they like.

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He probably will. Why? Because he’s the one most capable at his job and probably the one who did the least harm (not a high bar).

If Bowman survives...what's the over under on Quenville in garbage town by Feb?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

It was his coach that was the sexual assaulter. And he was the guy who according to the lawyers report basically said “don’t do anything when we are trying to win a Stanley Cup”. Usually the HC handpicks their coaching staff and has a bit of autonomy when dealing with them.

He's going to be 66 years old in September which would make him the oldest head coach in the NHL so I really don't see the upside of a team hiring him as head coach and taking on the same backlash as the Oilers are receiving as American teams in particular don't have sports media bought and paid for like the Oilers and don't have Rogers behind them who will likely do their best to ensure this topic is rarely discussed on broadcasts. I would never say never in the NHL because it's an old boys club and I'm sure Quenneville has a lot of fans in NHL team offices but given how the Babcock hire went and the backlash from the Bowman hire you are going to have to have an owner like Katz that's cares not about optics, is morally bankrupt, and only cares about winning. Probably a few of them out there but at his age I'm just not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

It was his coach that was the sexual assaulter. And he was the guy who according to the lawyers report basically said “don’t do anything when we are trying to win a Stanley Cup”. Usually the HC handpicks their coaching staff and has a bit of autonomy when dealing with them.

Aside from being in the one meeting I don’t recall anything else about his involvement. Still disgusting but way less than Bowman.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Aside from being in the one meeting I don’t recall anything else about his involvement. Still disgusting but way less than Bowman.

Ya I guess it is all relevant. None of them should work in hockey again but here we are. If they had had a gambling ring betting on non Blackhawk games they would be banned for life but not acting in any professional way about multiple sexual assaults leads to a limited punishment.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

I don't really get this hire for the Oilers.

Not sure why they decided to open themselves up to so much controversy over a guy who was pretty mediocre as a GM.

Lazy easy talking points for the people’s champ of lazy easy talking points Bobby Stauffer?

[Rejean31]

Spector on Edmonton radio this morning claiming the Bowman hire will make the Oilers one of the most progressive organizations in pro sports. Do these idiots actually hear what they are saying???

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

Spector on Edmonton radio this morning claiming the Bowman hire will make the Oilers one of the most progressive organizations in pro sports. Do these idiots actually hear what they are saying???

The highlighted is really all you need to focus on here when describing Edmonton sports media. The Oilers could hire Putin to run the team and these people would attempt to put a positive spin on it.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

Spector on Edmonton radio this morning claiming the Bowman hire will make the Oilers one of the most progressive organizations in pro sports. Do these idiots actually hear what they are saying???

The Oilers and their media literally stop at nothing to felate themselves. It is absolutely embarrassing. Hiring and signing known direct offenders and accomplices to sexual assault crimes makes you progressive??????

No, it doesn't make you progressive. It makes you a morally corrupt, dog ####, zero class organization.

[Ped]

The Athletic this morning with a pretty reasonable take, imo:

Sheldon Kennedy can suggest Stan Bowman deserves the benefit of the doubt all he wants. With the utmost respect, Bowman hasn’t earned that.
And neither have his new employers, the Edmonton Oilers — a critique that extends to the very top of the organization.

Kudos to Kennedy for taking him on and to Bowman for putting in the time toward self-improvement and helping progress in a vital area. It’s fair if anyone isn’t willing to simply accept that and move on, though.
Bowman was in a leadership role during one of the biggest scandals in NHL history. Kennedy suggested in his letter that Bowman takes more ownership in the organizational failure after originally putting most of the blame at then-president John McDonough’s feet, according to the Jenner & Block Report. Further still, after Bowman — or anyone else with the Blackhawks — didn’t report Aldrich to the police, Aldrich later pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sexual conduct with a teenager.
Bowman will, and should, be under immense scrutiny in Edmonton. He’s not alone.
There are teams around the NHL that wouldn’t consider bringing in some of the players the Oilers have in the last couple of years. Evander Kane and Corey Perry get much of the attention here, but the Oilers also welcomed Jake Virtanen to training camp in 2022 weeks after he was found not guilty on a sexual assault charge.

Because it’s now Jackson calling the shots and no longer former GM Ken Holland, it’s becoming clearer this is a pattern that stems from further up. Daryl Katz isn’t an absentee owner. He’s got his pulse on the team and wants to be involved in the operations of the club. That’s certainly his right.
He could have kiboshed any of these moves. He didn’t. He was consulted at length about hiring Bowman, Jackson said.
Making Bowman the GM is arguably the most glaring example of what can be interpreted as the Oilers’ arrogance.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

I don't really get this hire for the Oilers.

Not sure why they decided to open themselves up to so much controversy over a guy who was pretty mediocre as a GM.

THAT is your problem with the hire? Yes, he has a very mediocre track record as a GM. But as a fan of the team, is there not a little more here that you might take issue with?

[GFG#1]

I haven't read all 16 pages so maybe its been posted. But there is a petition to have him fired over 5k already.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl...on/ar-BB1qCicF

[Ped]

Well, not saying its right, but almost any team (if not all) would go after pretty terrible people if they thought it could help them win. That's a very unfortunate side of sports. Montreal drafted Logan Mailloux. Vegas drafted Connolly. Arizona drafted Mitch Miller, and then Boston iirc correctly signed him after.


Lots of NHLers (and pro sports players) have done some pretty terrible things and still found work, because there is always someone to overlook that if they think they are good enough or will help them, and the very nature of being a fan guarantees that a lot lot of them will not only overlook, but actively defend them. (see Kane, Patrick).


How many people stopped being Flames fans when they acquired Bertuzzi (yes, I am aware not at all the same thing as far as crimes go)? But we are usually more willing to accept something like this when its a team we cheer for versus one we hate.


And it's not particular to sports; any kind of fandom, whether it be celebrities or anything else. Hell, look at the gong show that is MAGA going on in the US.


It is disgusting and yes, it should be criticized and called out. But I think what many Oiler fans are saying, is not that it would be better if say, this was some amazing GM or an amazing player. But why risk backlash at all for people who are not difference makers? Like, if this was the greatest player in the world who was cut for a digusting reason, you could still think it was disgusting, but at least understand why your team went for it, even without supporting it But Kane? Perry? Bowman? Not only indefensible but also confusing as hell.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by Ped

Well, not saying its right, but almost any team (if not all) would go after pretty terrible people if they thought it could help them win. That's a very unfortunate side of sports. Montreal drafted Logan Mailloux. Vegas drafted Connolly. Arizona drafted Mitch Miller, and then Boston iirc correctly signed him after.


Lots of NHLers (and pro sports players) have done some pretty terrible things and still found work, because there is always someone to overlook that if they think they are good enough or will help them, and the very nature of being a fan guarantees that a lot lot of them will not only overlook, but actively defend them. (see Kane, Patrick).


How many people stopped being Flames fans when they acquired Bertuzzi (yes, I am aware not at all the same thing as far as crimes go)? But we are usually more willing to accept something like this when its a team we cheer for versus one we hate.


And it's not particular to sports; any kind of fandom, whether it be celebrities or anything else. Hell, look at the gong show that is MAGA going on in the US.


It is disgusting and yes, it should be criticized and called out. But I think what many Oiler fans are saying, is not that it would be better if say, this was some amazing GM or an amazing player. But why risk backlash at all for people who are not difference makers? Like, if this was the greatest player in the world who was cut for a digusting reason, you could still think it was disgusting, but at least understand why your team went for it, even without supporting it But Kane? Perry? Bowman? Not only indefensible but also confusing as hell.

None of those other names you mention involve sexual assault or the cover up of it........ apples and oranges my friend.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Ped

The Athletic this morning with a pretty reasonable take, imo:

Nugent-Bowman is one of the few in Edmonton media that Katz can't touch since he's not employed locally. He's a massive homer like the rest of their local media but props to him for having a breaking point and willingness to put this out there as I wouldn't be surprised if he faces some restrictions to accessing the team after this article.

[Enoch Root]

There is a slight difference between drafting an 18 year old who has a history of being a duchebag, and hiring a guy who was involved in a rape cover-up, as the GM of your franchise.

I mean, sure, sports will turn a blind eye for performance, but if you can't see the levels of magnitude between these things, that's on you.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Sofa GM

None of those other names you mention involve sexual assault or the cover up of it........ apples and oranges my friend.

Well, the hero worship involving Trump definitely involves rape and a whole bunch of other things. What Mailloux did was pretty bad. Mitch Miller bullied the hell out of a disabled kid, iirc.


It's not about levels of terribleness. And I'm willing to bet each NHL team has an employee or employees that has covered up something equally bad.


What Trump is doing is completely indefensible, for example. But we all know why he's doing it. We don't support it or defend it or think it's good, but we understand why.


But if he was doing all this just to be able to buy a single property for some reason, we would all be like "WTF? All that for this?"

[rogermexico]

The thing with Bowman is more complex than "he's done a bad thing — but other people have done bad things too, why single him out." The bad thing that Bowman has done makes him uniquely unsuited to do this job. He was part of the leadership of an organization and found out that one of the organization's employees sexually assaulted another. He then helped lead the cover up of that sexual assault.
Can be contrite about this and seek to do better? Of course, and he should. Working with Sheldon Kennedy is a great step on that. I hope he continues to put in the work to raise awareness and change the culture that he was part of.
But that doesn't mean that he should have ever been put back into the role that he failed so spectacularly at. He shouldn't have even been considered. Jumping to scoop him up ... Yikes.
It's like Katz read Moneyball and thought "Gee, other organizations' desire to not be associated with sexual assault is a real market inefficiency, I wonder how I can exploit that..."

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Ped

Well, the hero worship involving Trump definitely involves rape and a whole bunch of other things. What Mailloux did was pretty bad. Mitch Miller bullied the hell out of a disabled kid, iirc.


It's not about levels of terribleness. And I'm willing to bet each NHL team has an employee or employees that has covered up something equally bad.


What Trump is doing is completely indefensible, for example. But we all know why he's doing it. We don't support it or defend it or think it's good, but we understand why.


But if he was doing all this just to be able to buy a single property for some reason, we would all be like "WTF? All that for this?"

So for you, it doesn't matter what the objectionable action was, it's just a question of whether or not the ends justify the means?

Moral fiber be damned.