NHL-Oilers hire ex-Blackhawks executive Bowman as new general manager

(Reuters) -The Edmonton Oilers have hired former Chicago Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman to be their new general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations, the National Hockey League team said on Wednesday.

The decision comes three weeks after the NHL said Bowman and two other Blackhawks executives were eligible to seek employment in the league again more than two years after they were punished in the fallout from the Chicago team's sexual assault scandal.

"I believe his vast experience and proven success in this role, together with the important work he has done in his time away from the game, fits our goal of being best in class when it comes to all facets of our organization," Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson said in a news release.

"Through our many conversations, we share a common vision of where we are as a team and what is required to achieve another Stanley Cup title."

Bowman, former Chicago coach Joel Quenneville and executive Al MacIsaac had been ineligible since October 2021 due to what the NHL called their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that one of their players had been assaulted by the club's video coach.

A investigation commissioned by the Blackhawks in 2021 concluded team officials mishandled allegations raised in 2010 by then-player Kyle Beach during the team's Stanley Cup run.

Following the report, Bowman and MacIsaac stepped aside from their roles with the Blackhawks while Quenneville, who had since moved on to coach the Florida Panthers, resigned from that position after meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

"My response was inadequate back in 2010," Bowman told reporters at his introductory press conference.

"I didn't handle things properly. I should have done more, and that's something I regret and that's something that I've had a chance to reflect on and try to learn from."

During his time away from the league, Bowman worked with former NHL player and sexual abuse survivor Sheldon Kennedy and his Respect Group, which combats harassment and abuse in sports.

"I've learned ways that I could do a better job in the future," Bowman said.

A native of Montreal and son of Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, Stan Bowman began his Chicago front-office career as a special assistant to the general manager in 2001.

Bowman was promoted to director of hockey operations for the 2005-06 season, named assistant general manager in 2007 before taking over as Blackhawks general manager in July 2009.

The architect of three Stanley Cup championship squads in Chicago (2010, 2013 and 2015), Bowman's teams went 493-310-109 during his tenure as GM.

Bowman replaces Ken Holland as GM of an Oilers team that lost a decisive seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers in June.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, additional reporting by Karl Plume in ChicagoEditing by Toby Davis and Pritha Sarkar)