Stan Bowman, the brand new GM of the Edmonton Oilers, shared perception into the crew’s future path in a latest interview with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. Reflecting on his expertise managing the Chicago Blackhawks after signing long-term offers with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in 2014, Bowman is going through an analogous storyline in Edmonton.
He lately signed Leon Draisaitl to an enormous deal, will attempt to get Connor McDavid carried out subsequent summer season, after which work on Evan Bouchard. As soon as these items are in place and on long-term offers, it’s about ensuring all the things else across the core is smart.
Bowman acknowledged that whereas the Oilers are lucky to have stars like McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard of their primes, the true problem lies in developing the fitting supporting forged round them. “The cap goes to be one factor,” Bowman mentioned, “however I count on their efficiency to nonetheless be on the high.” Gamers like Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson are an excellent instance of the kind of gamers the Oilers will want. Skinner lately mentioned he’s excited simply to be a part of the puzzle.
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The main target for the Oilers, Bowman defined, gained’t be discovering new star gamers however reasonably bolstering the crew with depth expertise via numerous avenues. “There’s a whole lot of ways in which you are able to do that,” Bowman famous, itemizing choices such because the draft, trades, free agent signings, and undrafted expertise as key areas the Oilers will discover within the coming years.
Oilers Don’t Plan to Accumulate Draft Picks
One factor Bowman did say was that he didn’t assume the Oilers can be a crew that may accumulate draft picks. Whereas not essentially trying to promote his first-round picks like his predecessor Ken Holland did, Bowman won’t be eager to shortly dump picks. Nonetheless, the Oilers aren’t buying and selling for picks by transferring gamers. This implies Edmonton might want to do a stable job of drafting within the later rounds.
It’s one of many causes the Oilers went and employed three new participant growth hires final week. Bowman admitted that the payoff gained’t be instant, however mentioned, “It’s one thing that it’s a must to put your time into and these gamers will take a couple of years, however your aim in growth is to attempt to shorten that pure growth curve.”
Bowman additionally plans to put significance on good roster administration. With the core of the crew set, Bowman’s problem will likely be to construct round that core whereas navigating the ever-present constraints of the wage cap.
For Oilers followers, the subsequent few years will likely be extra about including depth and pushing them nearer to a championship with the fitting surrounding items. The Oilers have the celebrities. Now, it’s about discovering one of the best wingers, depth forwards, and defensive depth to ensure these stars have the right supporting forged.
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