Stan Bowman, the new GM of the Edmonton Oilers, shared insight into the team’s future direction in a recent interview with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. Reflecting on his experience managing the Chicago Blackhawks after signing long-term deals with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in 2014, Bowman is facing a similar storyline in Edmonton.
He recently signed Leon Draisaitl to a big deal, will try to get Connor McDavid done next summer, and then work on Evan Bouchard. Once those pieces are in place and on long-term deals, it’s about making sure everything else around the core makes sense.
Bowman acknowledged that while the Oilers are fortunate to have stars like McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard in their primes, the real challenge lies in constructing the right supporting cast around them. “The cap is going to be one thing,” Bowman said, “but I expect their performance to still be at the top.” Players like Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson are a good example of the type of players the Oilers will need. Skinner recently said he’s excited just to be part of the puzzle.
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The focus for the Oilers, Bowman explained, won’t be finding new star players but rather bolstering the team with depth talent through various avenues. “There’s a lot of ways that you can do that,” Bowman noted, listing options such as the draft, trades, free agent signings, and undrafted talent as key areas the Oilers will explore in the coming years.
Oilers Don’t Plan to Accumulate Draft Picks
One thing Bowman did say was that he didn’t think the Oilers would be a team that would accumulate draft picks. While not necessarily looking to sell his first-round picks like his predecessor Ken Holland did, Bowman might not be keen to quickly dump picks. However, the Oilers aren’t trading for picks by moving players. This means Edmonton will need to do a solid job of drafting in the later rounds.
It’s one of the reasons the Oilers went and hired three new player development hires last week. Bowman admitted that the payoff won’t be immediate, but said, “It’s something that you have to put your time into and these players will take a few years, but your goal in development is to try to shorten that natural development curve.”
Bowman also plans to place importance on smart roster management. With the core of the team set, Bowman’s challenge will be to build around that core while navigating the ever-present constraints of the salary cap.
For Oilers fans, the next few years will be more about adding depth and pushing them closer to a championship with the right surrounding pieces. The Oilers have the stars. Now, it’s about finding the best wingers, depth forwards, and defensive depth to make sure these stars have the proper supporting cast.
