8 General Managers Who Would’ve Hired Stan Bowman Instead of the Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers made the controversial decision to hire Stan Bowman as their new general manager (GM) and executive vice president of hockey operations on Wednesday, July 24, and fan response has not been positive at all. After the shocking move, Oilers fans all over social media began pushing back, citing both Bowman’s past moves as a GM being questionable, on top of how he mishandled a serious situation with the Chicago Blackhawks over a decade ago.
While Jeff Jackson spoke to the media and was adamant that he believed Bowman has become a better person and assured fans that they had the organization’s best interest in mind, there were better options available to the Oilers that they chose not to hire, making this hiring even more mind-boggling.
Now before we begin, I understand Bowman has become a better person and has the blessing of everyone involved to resume working in the NHL again, and I respect the fact he took the time to better himself as a human being and can understand the severity of what he did that led to his expulsion from the league, and I hope he continues to prove that with the Oilers. With that being said, this article strictly looks at the hockey side of why Bowman wasn’t the best choice, and why these people could have done a better job.
Bowman made some odd decisions during his time with the Blackhawks, including moving Artemi Panarin for close to nothing, trading two first-round picks and a top prospect for a known liability on the blue line in Seth Jones, and questionable long-term extensions that led to some money issues down the line. In this article, let’s look at nine candidates who would have been better hires than Bowman.
Taking a look outside the organization, the first person who could have made more sense is Mark Hunter. Hunter, who is 61 years old, currently serves as the GM of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and has a proven record as someone who has helped build one of the most consistent contenders in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
Hunter also has some experience at the NHL level serving as the assistant GM for the Maple Leafs from 2014 to 2018. He also served as the GM for Team Canada at the World Juniors, helping lead them to a gold medal in 2020. He has a proven winning record and deserves a shot at a GM position in the NHL, so it’s surprising he wasn’t the one the Oilers decided to bring in.
Leave a Reply