Stan Bowman talks about what he wants to avoid this season with the Oilers
During a segment of the Jason Gregor Show last week, GM Stan Bowman made an appearance to discuss his overall strategy heading into the regular season.
The Stan Bowman hiring was one of the more controversial moves of the NHL offseason. Despite the announcement irking some hockey fans, there's no denying the calibre of experience he brings to the Oilers organization.
Jason Gregor, a prominent Oilers insider posed Bowman an intriguing question about things he potentially wants to avoid during the course of the 2024-25 season.
Gregor: When you were promoted in Chicago, you had a good team and won the Cup your first year. Then you had to kind of retool on the fly a few times, and move guys out because of the salary cap. When you look back at your tenure in Chicago from a pure hockey evaluation aspect, what was the thing you feel you learned the most about the job that's going to help you now that you're in Edmonton?
Bowman: I think the natural tendency when you've had success is to try to replicate that success again, especially when you win a Cup. You're always going to have some new faces; no team is the same year-to-year. And we had that challenge. But I think I fell into the trap of trying to just recreate what was really successful. You think, okay, well, this guy, we don't have that player anymore. So, this new guy is going to take his role. We'll just put them on that third line.
There are a lot of traps you fall into trying to just look backwards and recreate what was magical the year before. So, I think the challenge is to try to treat each year like looking forward. We're going to have to create some new things. There may be some combinations that we never tried or we didn't have to try last year. Often, you want to rely on things. You may go back to certain things because they're so good, but the next year, they might not all work as well.
This is some great insight from the veteran GM. Although the Oilers were clicking last year, trying to duplicate that same success can be dangerous. Bowman reports that he will have to find new creative ways to to beef up his squad, rather than relying on the same strategy over, and over.
source: Oilers Nation
Stan Bowman discusses Ty Emberson trade, management evaluation, and what he wants to avoid with the Edmonton Oilers
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