You won’t find Stan Bowman’s name on any list of big winners from the NHL’s July 1 free agency frenzy — and that’s no surprise.
That’s not a slight against Bowman. The new Oilers GM was working with tight salary cap constraints. To make room, he shed the contracts of Viktor Arvidsson and Evander Kane and let Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Jeff Skinner, and John Klingberg walk — mostly to accommodate hefty pay raises for Evan Bouchard ($6.6M AAV) and Leon Draisaitl ($5.5M AAV bump).
The increased salary cap helped Edmonton afford deals for incoming free agent Andrew Mangiapane and soon-to-be UFA Trent Frederic. Bowman passed a key test for NHL general managers — using cap space wisely — even if it was a low bar given his limited flexibility. He made solid additions in Mangiapane and Frederic and took a low-risk flier on energy forward Curtis Lazar.
Despite that, hockey media outlets have broadly labeled Bowman and the Oilers as “losers” in free agency.
TSN’s Martin Biron was blunt: “They didn’t address their goaltending. There are a lot of question marks. Are the Oilers better now? No. In fact, they’re worse than at the start of last season.”
The Athletic’s Jesse Granger echoed the criticism: “The Oilers surprised many by standing pat in net. With only Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard signed for one more year, Bowman made no move to improve the crease. Sure, goalie options were limited — but he passed on John Gibson and several veteran backups.”
Matt Larkin (Daily Faceoff) was equally critical: “After falling short in back-to-back Cup runs, the Oilers now face a combined $24.5M cap hit for Draisaitl and Bouchard. They lost key depth and added little. They are clearly weaker than two weeks ago.”
Shayna Goldman (The Athletic) noted that goalie-needy teams like Edmonton came up short in a thin market.
Lyle Fitzsimmons (Bleacher Report) pointed to the eight-year, $3.85M AAV deal for Frederic as a head-scratcher, suggesting it won’t help convince Connor McDavid — entering the final year of his contract — to stay.
Adam Proteau (The Hockey News) said Edmonton failed to retain important role players. The result: a roster that’s no better — and possibly worse — than last season.
Ryan Dixon (Sportsnet) summed it up: “Valuable depth walked out the door, and the goaltending market dried up.”
My take:
Perhaps it’s a good thing so many pundits see the Oilers as “losers.” Last July, interim GM Jeff Jackson was widely praised for a blockbuster free agency period that included the additions of Arvidsson and Skinner, the retention of Henrique, Brown, and Janmark, and the departure of Warren Foegele. The team was briefly over the cap, but the moves drew applause.
Later that month, Edmonton traded Ryan McLeod for Matt Savoie — another popular move.
Sportsnet’s Eric Francis declared Edmonton “the most terrifying team in the West.”
The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn said Edmonton was the only 2024 Final Four team to get better during free agency.
Scott Wheeler called it a “really nice offseason” under Jackson.
But we now know how that offseason hype turned out. So maybe the skepticism now surrounding Bowman and the Oilers will be a blessing in disguise.
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