Less than three years after his resignation from the Blackhawks‘ general manager post amid widespread disgrace, Stan Bowman is back in the NHL.
The Oilers hired Bowman, 51, as their new GM on Wednesday. He replaces Ken Holland, who departed in June after five years in the role.
The hiring had been foreshadowed for quite some time, dating back to the very day the NHL reinstated Bowman — along with former Hawks coach Joel Quenneville and former executive Al MacIsaac — as eligible to be hired by any club.
Bowman last served as a GM in October 2021 before resigning following the release of the Jenner & Block investigation into the Hawks’ sexual-assault scandal.
That investigation determined Bowman participated in a now-infamous meeting in May 2010 — led by former team president John McDonough — in which the alleged assault of former player Kyle Beach by former video coach Brad Aldrich was discussed but never appropriately addressed.
The NHL wrote in a statement July 1 that Bowman “acknowledged” his mistake and “used his time away from the game to engage in activities which not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have.”
One key way Bowman did so was by getting involved in the Respect Group, an organization led by former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy that offers training courses about identifying and eliminating bullying and harassment.
Kennedy wrote in an open letter this month that Bowman “volunteered nearly full-time hours to help develop the program” and eventually co-facilitated a training session at a university in British Columbia which Beach attended. Kennedy endorsed Bowman as an NHL candidate, writing he believed Bowman would make “building a strong and healthy culture within an organization … a top priority.”
From an on-ice standpoint, Bowman oversaw three Stanley Cups with the Hawks during his 12-year run as GM. He inherited the vast majority of the core that led those title runs from previous GM Dale Tallon but nonetheless made some important peripheral moves — most notably the signing of Marian Hossa — to support them.
In his later years, however, a series of unwise trades and signings and whiplash-inducing pivots between rebuilding and contending decimated the Hawks’ short-term competitiveness and long-term optimism.
Bowman won’t succeed as Oilers GM without better decision-making regarding both on- and off-ice matters, but the decision to trust him to do so particularly with the latter will create significant scrutiny.
“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,” Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson said in a statement. “Through our many conversations, we share a common vision of where we are as a team.”