Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman Off the Hot Seat With Strong Offseason

It’s been one of the more eventful offseasons in recent years for the Edmonton Oilers. They hired a new head coach, made some trades, and got busy in free agency. General manager Stan Bowman is always the centre of attention all these transactions and although the feedback may have started negatively, things are looking very positive for him as we draw closer to the 2026-27 season.

Bowman has always drawn criticism from the moment he arrived after the whole offer sheet situation went down with the St. Louis Blues and the Oilers lost two young players. Every general manager has their tough or controversial moments and Bowman has had some both recently and dating back to August 2024. He moved himself firmly away from any speculation about whether this job is for him with the way he handled the past month of work and pushed the Oilers right back into contention.

A Rocky Start to Summer

The great offseason didn’t start right away for Bowman as he found himself in the middle of some controversy. The Oilers fired head coach Kris Knoblauch on May 14 and after being denied an interview with Bruce Cassidy and an official NHL investigation, Mike Babcock was hired as the new head coach. This can still be a really great move for Bowman, but the way it unfolded with the investigation and the polarizing figure Babcock is put Bowman in a rather tough spot.

This move came on the heels of the Oilers losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Anaheim Ducks in six games. A disappointing season combined with an eye-opening coaching move didn’t bode well for Bowman at the time; then July 1 rolled around.

How Bowman Saved Himself

The beginning of a new league year saw the Oilers general manager do some new things. He traded Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks and brought in a pair of young defensemen in a stunning move early on. He traded for goaltender Devon Levi and signed Frederik Andersen and forward Mathieu Joseph. He was also able to retain UFAs and RFAs who were Oilers last season including trade acquisitions Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson.

There were many other players that were brought in and let go, these are just the highlights. At this moment, Bowman has addressed the immediate needs of the team and was aggressive right out of the gate. It’s something every team wants to see out of their general manager and Oilers fans should be happy with how things have turned out so far in the offseason.

Another positive that has come out actually surrounds the head coach hire. As part of the hiring process, the Oilers’ leadership group was consulted and was able to speak with Babcock before he was officially hired. And players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have even recently spoken about their new coach, raving about the hire.

This is a great move by Bowman and creates a strong chemistry within the organization. It’s also another positive of the offseason.

Big Season for Edmonton

The 2026-27 season will be one of the most important seasons for this franchise in a long time. The anticipation with all the stars and the additions made is sky-high. Bowman has done his part creating a good-looking team on paper over the summer. He has also made many moves in-season in the past, so the roster could very well change again.

Management has done their job for now. It’ll be up to the players to sort out the rest come fall.