Oilers fans organize to protest hiring of Stan Bowman as General Manager
Today, commissioner Gary Bettman reinstated former Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman to return to the NHL, and it's believed he will be the next General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers.
According to EJ Hradek of NHL Tonight, Bowman will be the next General Manager of the Oilers, with Mark Hunter playing a role as well.
Expect Bowman to land in Edmonton. Mark Hunter might have a significant management role there as well.
Stan Bowman was banned from the NHL in 2021 for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks organization during the Kyle Beach scandal. An investigation found that Bowman was aware of the allegations against his video coach Brad Aldrich and chose not to act. In fact, Bowman gave a referral for Aldrich, who later left the organization and continued abusing his players.
Edmonton Oilers fans are livid that the organization is even considering hiring Stan Bowman, and are already beginning to organize a protest of the hiring. Many fans are proclaiming hiring Bowman would be enough to destroy all the goodwill of the Cup run, and actually stop them from being a fan of the team.
A petition has already been created to stop the hiring of Stan Bowman. Some fans are calling for letters to be sent to ownership condemning the hiring.
According to all reports, Bowman and the other Blackhawks executives took significant steps to better understand their immense wrongdoing, and have been cleared by Gary Bettman personally to return to the league. Still, that doesn't mean that they haven't betrayed the public trust permanently. It would be absolutely just if none of these people were involved in the NHL ever again.
Hopefully President Jeff Jackson and Oilers ownership see the massive outcry from Oilers fans about hiring Bowman, and change course immediately. After such a fantastic year and building a likeable team, hiring Stan Bowman would be an easy way to destroy the Oilers reputation among hockey fans.
Source: EJ Hradnek
Expect Stan Bowman to join the Oilers
| POLL | ||
Do you think the Oilers should hire Stan Bowman? | ||
| Yes, great manager | 149 | 23.1 % |
| No, doesn't deserve a second chance | 422 | 65.4 % |
| See Results | 74 | 11.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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