Q&A: Oilers GM Stan Bowman on how offer-sheet drama is paying off

PITTSBURGH — Stan Bowman’s time in Edmonton began with a fire drill, courtesy two offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues that were dropped on his desk virtually the day he started as Oilers general manager.

Then he sat back as folks blamed him for the performance of Jeff Skinner, the health of Viktor Arvidsson, the Josh Brown contract, and everything that happened under team president Jeff Jackson’s watch — well before Bowman had even been hired by Edmonton.

Eventually, he made his decisions on Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, and unlike some Oilers fans, Bowman isn’t poring over the Blues' game summaries every second night to see how many points they had.

“That’s just the way I am in general. I’m not looking back at all,” he told Sportsnet over the phone from Boston, where Edmonton’s pro scouting meetings wrapped up on Wednesday. “Whether you agree or disagree with it, in our minds they were the only moves that made sense.

“And I think, if you look at where we are today, there have been some new opportunities that have come from that.”

What he won’t say is, by grabbing Vasily Podkolzin from Vancouver for a fourth-round draft pick, and nabbing a relatively unknown Ty Emberson from San Jose in the Cody Ceci contract dump, Bowman sped up the healing process on the gaping wound left by Holloway and Broberg’s departure.

Alas, none of that was his fault. But it swiftly became his problem, a set of issues that seem less and less crippling as the Oilers play better and better hockey in Q2 of the 2024-25 season.

We caught up with Bowman on Wednesday for a mid-season report, ahead of game No. 41 slated for Thursday in Pittsburgh. His answers have been edited for brevity.

Sportsnet: Have the first 40 games changed your thoughts on what your team requires at the trade deadline? Perhaps Brett Kulak’s play? Or Skinner’s role being less than hoped for?

Stan Bowman: “In hindsight, there was a lot of change for the group — even though a lot of the main guys came back. We've been pretty consistent for the last couple months, so I don't think there are any big surprises.

“Players have adapted well to a new season of turning the page on what was, and now it's a matter of fine-tuning things. So to your question specifically, no, I don't think there's been a big sea change in (his) expectations of what we need or what we might be doing.”

SN: Podkolzin and Emberson were sneaky adds. Could you have asked for more from those two?

SB: “I've been very happy with both. We took our time that week of the offer sheets, and we spent a lot of time deciding — if we weren't going to bring the two players (Broberg and Holloway) back — how are we going to fill in with different players?

“Podkolzin, his stats maybe don’t look so impressive — (four goals and) 14 points in a half a season. It’s like, ‘OK. Big deal.’ But when he found chemistry with Leon (Draisaitl)… Leon's been just incredible all season. A top player in the league, and he deserves the credit for that. But I think Podkolzin has played a role … by finding a way to keep pucks alive in the offensive zone with his work ethic. He makes enough plays that he can sustain an offensive shift and allow Leon to work his magic.

“Emberson, in the beginning of the year he was just feeling his way. He was doing fine, but he didn't have the confidence that he does now. He's been very effective for us.”

SN: You were forced to rebuild the Chicago Blackhawks a couple of times after their Stanley Cup wins, and successfully put them back on top again. Even though Edmonton didn’t win last season, is this project somewhat similar?

SB: “Yes, I think there's some accuracy to that. It is a challenge, but it's something that I actually enjoy, putting the pieces together in a different way but keeping the key pieces in place that are critical to your team success. (At the just completed meetings) we’re discussing who else could we add to the mix that could be complementary players. I embrace the challenge and try to find players. It's exciting to see when it starts to come together.”

SN: Some teams have a top-six and a bottom-six — skilled up top, big checkers at the bottom. With Kris Knoblauch’s recent line deployments — Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner on the third line — Edmonton has become more of a top-nine team, with three lines that can score. What style do you prefer?

SB: “Well, the top six have been incredibly consistent with their production, and that's hard to do over a full season. But it's a much harder team to play against when you're just always coming at the other team. And, maybe if one of those (top two) lines isn't going on a night, and you’ve really only got one line going, then you're just waiting for the rotation, for that line to get back out there.

“Kris has the foresight to try different things, so that when we're in a game and things aren't going well, we can go to combinations that are different for the game, but not totally new to the players. I like that.”

SN: We all watched Nikita Zadorov run Stuart Skinner and go untouched Tuesday in Boston. Some hockey people would frown on that. Others have moved on from violence or retribution. Where do you stand?

SB: “Well, nothing was done in terms of jumping Zadorov, but there were things done. Messages sent that maybe don't always show up on TV, but if you're at the game and you were watching some of our players, there really was (a response). I would say that there was a response, but the biggest thing was to make sure that we continue to play our game and not get out of a rhythm. We've been playing well lately (and won the game 4-0).

“I understand the question, which is, ‘Does that matter?’ You don't want teams thinking they can take liberties. But I don't see that with our group. I don't see that at all.”

SN: How is Evander Kane’s progress?

SB: “I don't have any new update right now. Evander has been doing his rehab, but as far as his timeline and all that, I don't have anything new to share.”

SN: You’ll need to know soon, no? With the trade deadline two months away?

SB: “Very true. We’ll need clarity on that for sure, when he's available and all that stuff. It can impact how much cap space we have. They do go hand in hand and we should be getting an update very soon.”