The game of hockey is won and lost at the margins.

It’s the ability to dig deep, bury that rebound, chip that puck out, win that faceoff, or any of the superlatives that contribute to wins on the ice.

But in order for a team to be in a position to win on the ice, management has to do its job of winning at the margins to make sure the team on ice is in a position to win at its margins. This goes up and down the organization, too.

And if there’s one thing that Stan Bowman has done during his time with the Edmonton Oilers, it’s win at the margins.

Ty Emberson. Vasily Podkolzin. Kasperi Kapanen. Connor Ingram. Connor Murphy. Jason Dickinson. Jack Roslovic. Josh Samanski. Quinn Hutson. In one form or another, each has been wins for Bowman.

Emberson has become a solid third-pairing, defensive defenceman. Podkolzin has flourished, seeming more and more like someone who can hit his ceiling of a 10th-overall draft pick. Kapanen has become a big playoff performer for the team, scoring key game-winning goals in the playoffs. Ingram became the Oilers’ starting goalie. Murphy and Dickinson proved their worth as trade-deadline acquisitions. Roslovic chipped in much-needed depth scoring at five-on-five. Samanski hit the NHL faster than anyone expected, and looks like a depth player who won’t go anywhere anytime soon. Hutson was an AHL all-star, racking up goals and points.

If determining a general manager’s job security was based solely on the margins, there wouldn’t be any questions about his future in the Oilers organization. But it’s not, as the big swings a general manager makes are arguably just as important as winning at the margins, and that’s where Bowman has failed.

Signing Trent Frederic blew up almost immediately in the team’s face, with his deal being far too long, carrying far too much money, and including far too much trade protection. The dollar amount is too high, though not enough to kneecap you in a rising cap world, but signing him to an eight-year deal after a poor playoff last year is nothing short of head-scratching — doubly so for a player that wound up as a healthy scratch in the final two games of their short-lived playoff run.

There’s still hope that Jake Walman’s big-money, long-term extension works out, but there’s no denying the Oilers jumped the gun on getting the deal done. Had it not been signed last October, there’s a good chance the team could’ve gotten a different deal done now at a lower cap hit. With the Oilers spending to the cap year in and year out, $1 million to $2 million can be a difference-maker. When he’s been healthy, he’s shown to be a dynamic player at both ends of the rink, but the problem was that he was injured too often this season.

The Andrew Mangiapane signing was another disaster, as once again the front office and coaching staff seemed to be on different pages about a newly signed player.

No matter how optimistic one could be about the Tristan Jarry trade working out, it’s clear it has been nothing short of a massive failure. He seemed to have found his game in Pittsburgh again earlier this season, but his .857 save percentage in Edmonton was the worst mark of his career. And by this spring, he lost the starting role to Connor Ingram — someone who wasn’t wanted by the Utah Mammoth, and was acquired by the Oilers for future considerations.

And how about the offer sheets? With the Oilers worried about Evander Kane’s then-unknown LTIR status looming, the Oilers declined to match either Dylan Holloway’s or Philip Broberg’s offer sheet from the Blues. While Podkolzin has been tremendous and Emberson solid, the choice to decline both is still a sore spot, as Holloway and Broberg have flourished in St. Louis.

Time is running out for the Edmonton Oilers to figure things out. A five-alarm fire should be going off in Darryl Katz’s office with Leon Draisaitl’s and Connor McDavid’s pointed post-season comments. With McDavid’s two-year contract kicking off this fall, all the pressure is going to be on Edmonton to win a Stanley Cup this season to secure No. 97’s future in Northern Alberta.

The wins at the margins have been good, but they’ve been overshadowed by Bowman’s major misses. Those alone should cost him his job, and now, there’s chatter front-office changes could be coming.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.