After weeks of waiting and speculation, the Edmonton Oilers announced early Wednesday morning that Stan Bowman would be coming to town as the team’s new General Manager and Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
Stan Bowman began his Chicago front-office career as a Special Assistant to the General Manager in 2001 before being promoted to Director of Hockey Operations for the 2005-06 season. After some success in that role, he was then elevated again to Assistant General Manager in 2007 before being named as the Blackhawks’ ninth GM in franchise history on July 14, 2009.
Bowman was banned from holding executive positions in the NHL in 2021 after an independent investigation revealed that Chicago’s management had mishandled allegations of sexual assault raised by Kyle Beach against the team’s video coach, Brad Aldrich. The league reinstated Bowman, former head coach Joel Quenneville, and former top executive Al MacIssac on July 1st, saying the trio had worked to understand and rectify their harmful actions. The trio became eligible to sign a new contracts in the NHL on July 10th.
Upon reinstatement, the league said all three had “made significant strides in personal improvement by participating in myriad programs, many of which focused on the imperative of responding in effective and meaningful ways to address alleged acts of abuse.”
In a prepared release on the Oilers’ website, Jeff Jackson praised Bowman’s experience and history of success:
“I am excited and pleased to be welcoming Stan to the Edmonton Oilers. I believe his vast experience and proven success in this role, together with the important work he has done in his time away from the game, fits our goal of being best in class when it comes to all facets of our organization. Through our many conversations, we share a common vision of where we are as a team and what is required to achieve another Stanley Cup title.”
Yet, despite Jeff Jackson’s words, the reaction on social media to Stan Bowman’s hiring has been understandably split. After his role in the Kyle Beach assault in Chicago, many wonder why he deserves the opportunity to return to the NHL in one of the most coveted positions on the league and why the Oilers felt the need to bring him in during a period of such good will.
Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, co-founder of the Respect Group — Respect Group trains Canadians on their roles and responsibilities to prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination — released a statement earlier last week saying that he has worked closely with Bowman on several initiatives and that the former Chicago GM was part of presentations for the Respect Charter pilot program.
“I was immediately struck by Stan’s genuine care and concern for Kyle, and what could have been done differently,” Kennedy said. “During that period, we spoke almost daily about the seriousness of sexual abuse from the victim’s perspective. 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.”
In the statement, Kennedy also said he feels Bowman “would be a valuable asset to an organization due to his acknowledgment of past mistakes and his relentless efforts to make the locker room/game safer for everyone.”
Kennedy said Bowman’s desire to acknowledge his mistakes and make amends with Beach were sincere and that he volunteered nearly full-time hours to help develop the Respect Charter and workshop the courses offered by the organization. He added Bowman also co-facilitated the Respect Charter session at Trinity Western University in British Columbia and met with Beach, who attended the workshops and discussed their realities.
Stan Bowman served in the Blackhawks organization from 2009 to 2021 and won the Stanley Cup three times during that span. As GM, Bowman’s teams went 493-310-109 and won three Western Conference, three Central Division titles, and a Presidents’ Trophy in 2013. He is also the son of Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman.