The NHL reinstates Stan Bowman and others; already linked to the Edmonton Oilers GM vacancy

Content Warning: This story contains references to sexual assault.

In typical NHL fashion, some very important and controversial news has been snuck in during one of the busiest days of the year.

This afternoon it was reported that Stan Bowman, Joel Quenneville, and Al MacIsaac have all been reinstated by the NHL and are eligible to seek employment from any NHL team.

The NHL once again takes one step forward and one step back for this entire process. What makes it even worse is that within mere minutes of the news being out, the Edmonton Oilers are already linked to Bowman as a potential GM replacement.

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The full NHL statement is as follows: 

While it is clear that, at the time, their responses were unacceptable, each of these three individuals (Messrs. Bowman, MacIsaac and Quenneville) has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have, particularly personnel who are in positions of leadership. Moreover, each has made significant strides in personal improvement by participating in myriad programs, many of which focused on the imperative of responding in effective and meaningful ways to address alleged acts of abuse. The League expects that they will continue this commitment in any future capacity with the NHL and/or one of our Clubs.

The statement does go on to add that all three will not be able to enter new relationships until after July 10th, which really doesn’t do much to the overall situation.

All three men had significant involvement in the 2010 assault of Kyle Beach by simply turning their heads and doing nothing. It’s shocking that all they got in the end was a temporary leave from the league, and are now able to really go back to business as usual.

What Brad Aldrich allegedly did while with the Blackhawks was bad enough, but their management's failure to properly report him allowed him to go on & sexually assault a minor. To me, there's no coming back from that. Maybe not surprising, but the NHL's decision was wrong today.

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 1, 2024

An important note from someone who did a lot of reporting on this story while it was being uncovered. Bowman was a major player in the Blackhawks organization at the time this assault was being covered up in order to protect a team’s Stanley Cup run. The organizational culture created with his presence and perpetuated under his leadership led to a nearly decade long cover-up of a team staff member assaulting another employee.

This is not the type of person who should be allowed in this level of position with that amount of power and authority over others again. The Oilers would be doing a great disservice to their legacy and their place in the community while telling fans that the dominant ideology of hockey culture still remains ‘we don’t care, he’s good at hockey’.

The Oilers were the target of many jokes at the start of free agency for potentially being the gateway for other controversial players in the league, but if they are truly planning on hiring Bowman for their new GM position they should continue to be criticized for their decisions. 

There are a handful of better GM candidates out there that the team could look into. This move just would be a slap in the face to Kyle Beach as well as other individuals who have been subject to abuse by players that the Oilers continue to have on their roster. 

Jeff Jackson has done a strong job so far as the man in charge, so we’re keeping faith that this is nothing more than just a rumor.