Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman (3/2/26)

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1:01every room in your home, from your garage to your attic. Visit home depot.com, how doers, get more done. Well, we said we had a loaded show today, it's 533 at Oil Country, welcome back, Bob Stoffer with you on Oilers now. Five guys today, probably GM material. In their own mind, myself and Frank Saravali, probably think we could be GM's, Chris Pronger, probably could be a GM. We've had Matt Tion, he was a GM and Oilers current general manager, Stan Bowman coming up. He is our headliner today for Wilhawk Beef Jerky, others can try to have a tape and nobody can duplicate the great flavor of Wilhawk Beef Jerky only available in Laduk. Allow me to do this for the one and only time here on Oilers now, as we head off to the River Creek Resort, Casino Hotline, Stan Bowman joins us, Stan, how you doing? Stan, great, Bob, how are you? Good, congratulations on being a part of Team USA and winning the gold medal.

2:04You know the depths of my soul burn, having to say that, but well done, congrats. Thank you, I appreciate that, yeah, it was a lot of fun to be part of that, it was quite an experience. Next time you'll play a Canadian team that actually has their best defenseman. It was, it played pretty good against the US, I think it's got to be stated. I think the Americans were probably better in the four nations in the two games and I think Canada certainly on a lot of nights they win, so there you go. Did you mix in a water after you guys won or what was the deal, how good was the celebration even for the management team, because Bill Gerrard's a fun guy. Yeah, there was a lot of fun guys on that group, Setsu and Bill Zito and history, and making some other guys out, but it was a great group to be part of. Yeah, we enjoyed it after, and the game ended pretty early actually, because it started early over there, so it was plenty of time to enjoy the night and then head out the next

3:06day. It's a unique experience, you don't get a chance to do that, but you never know if you've been part of it again, so it's just hard to win anything, you know, to get out, to go all the way, and you're ready with the going flip of a game, Canada certainly played that so on hockey and dominated the second and a lot of a third, but you know, as it goes in hockey, it's competitive close games and it comes down to someone making a play at a moment, and they've went to U.S. play this year. How hard it is, is it as the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, and having Conor McDavid on your team, or even for that Maddie Leon Dry settle, because the USA played the Germans as well, watching the team that you're part of going up against, you know, two Hall of Fame players and great leaders on the Edmonton Oilers. Well, you're right, I mean, I think you appreciate how fortunate we are here in the

4:07Edmonton to have those players on our side, you know, you're playing against them, the players you've got to be worried about every single time they step on the ice. So there's so many great players in that event, and both Conor and Leon are outstanding players, and they have unbelievable talent to be able to make things happen offensively, and they get you on your heels for sure. So I think, you know, when they come on the ice and you're in the opposition, you know that you have to pay attention because they always make things happen. All right, let's get to the here now. Today, right around two o'clock, rumors were put out by some of the headliners, and then at four o'clock today, it was made official. The Edmonton Oilers acquired Conor Murphy for a 20, 28 second round draft choice. Chicago retains half the money. This is a player you know very well.

5:07You acquired him from Arizona in a deal from, which was not an easy deal for you. You tried it away. Nicholas Jarmelson. He won three cups for you. Tell the listeners about Conor Murphy. Yeah, he's an outstanding character player, first of all. I mean, you got a chance to meet this guy, which you will soon. You'll see why he's such a great leader, and I think that stuff matters. So obviously, I have to go and play the game on top of it. But great person is going to be a great teammate in the addition from that part of it. I think the thing that defines Murphy's game is he's someone that takes a lot of pride in playing defense and being hard to play against. He's got that physical size, and he's willing to play a rugged game. And I think he enjoys the challenge of playing against good players and trying to shut them down. Like, that's what he knows what he is as a player.

6:09If I had to say one thing about him, as he has a clear identity as someone that takes a lot of pride in playing hard defense, and whether it's battling it from the net in the corners, blocking shots, making a simple play, getting the puck going to the offensive zone, I think that those are attributes which are in high demand in pressure situations and I think it's a lot of what we're lacking right now. And I think it's going to be a nice addition to our defensive group. The other thing he does is he does a great job killing penalties and so did Chicago. They were the best penalty killing in the team in the NHL. The orders were 11th until about 10 games ago, and then have gone through a mammoth free fall. Now sometimes we look at safe percentage on PK stand. The irony is that you've got a defenseman that he's evolved as a very good penalty killer.

7:13He's also your best offensive defenseman and you're your best all-around defenseman, and that is Evan Boushard, but it certainly doesn't hurt getting a guy like Murphy who can stop cycles at 5 on 5, but front plucks in the PK as well, doesn't it? This episode is brought to you by Subaru. Go further in a long-range Subaru hybrid, with up to 597 miles per tank in the cross-track hybrid, and up to 581 miles per tank in the Forester hybrid. Subaru. Love goes the extra mile. Visit Subaru.com slash hybrid to learn more. Range based on EPA-estimated combined fuel economy and a full tank of fuel. Actual mileage and range may vary. They say you should learn something new every day! Like how you should only drink Yeager Meister at zero degrees Fahrenheit. Ice cold. Like those frozen cavemen they find, which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think of Yeager Meister? Well, if you served it warm, he'd probably throw it in your face, say, Bunga Bunga! And storm off, and nobody wants that. So drink it cold, or not at all?

8:13Yeager Meister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly, Yeager Meister LaCure, 35% alcohol by volume imported by Master Yeager Meister, US White Plains, New York. Yeah, he's got a really good reading of the game, too, I think, is anticipation. He understands how to kill penalties and, you know, when the pressure went not true and wanted to take away the lane, and gets in the way of shots, but he also fattles in front of the net. Like, he's a big guy, strong, and I think you need those attributes, he's got a long reach as well, you know, with his size and his reach, that's an important characteristic on a successful penalty kill. So, yeah, I think that's going to be a nice addition for our group. I mean, special teams are always crucial all year long, but especially this time, and into the playoffs, and our powerplay has been excellent this year, and I think, you know, we certainly have the players there, so we're not looking for that, but on the penalty kill, it's nice to have someone like Murf who's been in that role,

9:18his whole career. He's having a great season at that this year in Chicago, and, you know, their structure and the way they kill is the same as the way we kill. So, I think he should be able to, you know, jump right into the mixture with us without a lot of, you know, new learning of a different system. It is the same system. Is that correct? They're March storage running right now? Yeah. Chicago runs the same system that'll help. Did you need to move on this deal? Like was there a threat that Kyle Davidson might have taken another offer? Yeah. You know, things, I mean, I've been in touch with Kyle going back several weeks, and, you know, checked in again over the Olympic break, and then again, while we're on our Western road trip, and then on Sunday, you know, Kyle, let me know that things were moving forward. And, you know, if we wanted to be in the next to make sure you let me know which, in which

10:18we did. And then that was just yesterday, I guess, forgetting today's only Monday, but so a lot happened in the last, I guess, you know, 18 hours, just several calls back and forth. And it definitely kicked up today at the point where we had to make the top. And then, you know, there's a succession of salary cap transactions, which we had to make. And starting yesterday with the waivers and then clearing waivers and going into LPI and then loaning players. So there was a lot of moving parts, and thankfully, we were able to work together with Chicago to get things worked out, and yeah, I couldn't be happier with how it all played out. All right. Last year at the deadline stand, you added Trent Frederick and Jake Walman. You gave up second rounder for Frederick and a first rounder for Walman. Trent's had a challenging time, but you did get him extended to a long-term deal, pending UFA. He was 27 at the time.

11:20Conversely, Walman was, I think, a surprise to a lot of people. He extended him as well. There was history with Gord Murphy, Conor's dad, and Chris Noblock, those guys worked together for three years. And you stepped up and made the trade to get Conor Murphy, and again, that was a challenging time for some of the people around the Hawks, but Conor Murphy was the longest serving member of the Chicago Hawks. So obviously, that trade worked out for Chicago. Is it out of the realm of possibilities that Edmonton could extend them? Because now you've got a good balance between left and right D. Yeah. I mean, obviously, we've got to get him in here and get him with our group. But I think there's no question that that's on our mind and something that could be in the works. We want to get him on our team and hopefully convince him that this is a good match for him as well. But I've had a lot of confidence in his ability as a player. And like I said, some of them that I think fans are going to appreciate, and his teammates

12:23are going to appreciate these ultimate competitor, great team mate, great person, and the element that we're missing, I think, right now. So when you add that all up, I think it does line up nicely for someone that could have a longer run here than just a few months. Stan Bowman's our other soundheadliner for Will Hawk, Beef Turkey. Players can try to imitate. Nobody can duplicate the great flavor of Will Hawk, Beef Turkey, only available in L.A. in Laduk, Albert, it's 544 in Evanton, actually, I think Trent Will Hawk was just down with Keith Kretsky watching Bakersfield yesterday in Ontario. He loves the team, obviously. All right, I got to ask this question because Matt T sort of alluded to it. I believe I know what the answer is, but you can provide some clarity with us. There is nothing to stop you from trading the 2027 first round pick. In spite of the fact that there are conditions on the 26 first round pick that you moved in the Wallman trade. Is that correct? Like, you could still go out and trade the 2027 number one, right?

13:26Yeah, it's the same thing we did a year ago when it's kind of the same, but you're correct to the answer is yes, we are able to do that. All right. In order to create cap flexibility, you might have to make a move, somebody that's either on the roster down in Bakersfield or theoretically here. Is it sort of money in, money out right now, Stan? And could it be two different trades in order to facilitate that? Yeah, it's, you're right. I mean, we don't have much cap room right now with our current group. So if we're going to be adding an additional player via trade, then yes, someone has to go out, whether that's in one trader and two separate trades, I think a lot of different things are on the table. I think at this time of year is when you have a lot of different conversations that you wouldn't typically have, you know, in November, December, I think each team is in a different frame of mind.

14:26And then you've got some teams that are looking to next year. This isn't their year. So they're contemplating moving players that they normally would not do. And you've got other teams that are trying to add and you've got some teams that are maybe trying to add assets to take on players. And, you know, so I think there's just a lot of conversations. So over the next couple of days, that's the main objective, I think, coming into this, you know, this week, our number one focus was to try to find a defense that's mulled and I think Connor was the perfect match for that. So I feel much better today than I did yesterday with the way we're looking and now if we can make additional ads, that would be nice. But right now, nothing is really at that end stage where we're ready to make moves. We've had many conversations about potential additions, but we'll have to see where that

15:28goes over the next few days here. You went, you had about a three minute answer on the importance of the team playing better team defense overall, not just the goal tending, not just the defense team defense. You've added a defensive defensive in Conor Murphy and not moved out your first rounder to do so. Is it another level of possibility that you would have, you know, maybe best case scenario found a way to add a two-way sentiment with some defensive acumen potentially, given that, you know, you guys, you're, you're marginally behind Tampa Bay for the second highest scoring team in the NHL. You're, your third and goals for and you're, you're never one in the league of power play. This team can score. Could you use a guy that can play a two-way game at center potentially with some size? Yeah, that would be, I mean, I think we're kind of, not that we've sort of put our defense we're turning our attention to forward and whether it's a winger or a center and whether

16:31it's a physical player, you know, I think it's probably more in that realm than more offense. I do think that we have going the ability to score goals and it was a little bit of a slow build on that. I think we started this year without a lot of offense and, you know, our power play got going and now I think our offensive game is kind of kicked into gear. There are more aspects to a winning team than just scoring goals. We've got to play part of it can be a new player and sometimes one player can make a big impact on your team and get everyone else to play a little bit better and other times you just need the players that are here to find a way to be more committed to the two-way game. And I think both of those would be great to have. So I think if we can have some better performances from within, but also add a player that would,

17:34you know, have that skill set and that mentality then that would work as well. Stan, last year around this time you talked about the importance if you don't have draft capital of spending money to find players in Europe and the NCAA and the NCAA is a whole new world now with the changes of the major junior NCAA recruitment process. Suffice to say, I think, I mean, you look at it and you took a swing on Tomachik, a swing on Semanski, Semanski's track in the right way, Lepinan, pretty good addition. Mariala has been a pretty decent addition down in the farm and then obviously the offseason trade for Isaac Howard not to mention Queen Hudson. But that's six guys you brought in, not with picks. You could trade as many as two or three more picks here in the next four days. I don't know if you can get six guys, but do you think you can get two or three more guys out of the work that guys like Kelly Larson, Toby Samilainen and some of the people you

18:35have in the development side? Could you potentially be looking at at least two or three more players being at it via Europe or NCAA? Yeah, that's the goal. I think we're certainly, you know, it's a, it's a long process that culminates in you making an offer and the player accepting that offer. So we're in that stage is now identifying the players that we think would be good matches and then it becomes a conversation to see if it's in the destination for them. But you're right, I think that's an important part of where we're headed here is to make sure that we are on top of that and that we're expanding the time, energy and resources into finding these players and then recruiting them because it is important to not only the short term, but the longer term as we are trading away, you know, a lot of valuable assets, but we're also replenishing those and I think the goal would be for these players that we sign as free agents is for them to come in, whether it's, you know, like Samansky's

19:41been able to come in right away and help us and some other guys might take a year before they're ready, but, you know, the process is part of where we're headed with the organization to make sure that we always have some assets that are disposal, whether they're draft fix or free agents, you know, they become players that can help you on the ice or helps you in the marketplace. Stan, we appreciate the time. We'll let you get to like call from Brad tree living. Just kidding. Thanks, guys. I do. I appreciate it. All right. There you go. Let's stand. Bowman, the general manager of the Amazon orders. We normally have the Condor's report today. We'll do it tomorrow with Colin Shaw. It's brought to you by Equus Alberta's largest power co-op, choose community, choose Equus the EQUS.ca back with this data with us history and we'll wrap up orders now after this. We all have that dream trip. We've been wishing we could go on, but too often life or usually price gets on the way.

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21:58The Euler's trade cash in a second round pick in the 1988 draft to the Minnesota Norse Stars in exchange for 30-year-old forward Kent Nielsen. That draft picked turned into link gates while Nielsen played in just 17 games for the Euler scoring five goals with 12 assists before ending his career in Europe. Oh, he did play in the playoffs that year in 87. They won the copy. Oh. Yes. I guess that makes a lot of sense. Played on a line with Mark Messy and Glenn Anderson. That was the best team they had. He was a big part of it. He played 17 games. Doesn't do it. Justice. They won the copy. He was a part of a great goal in game seven. Come on, man. I want to be a little mad and yell at the clouds. You don't understand? Well, he played six more games in Edmonton in 1994, 95. He scored one goal during that. Yeah, regular season, he wasn't a killer, but he was pretty good in the playoffs for the Euler's part of their deepest team of all time. Brennan Escots got, yeah, he's got inside sports coming up. Your thoughts on the trade. The Euler has given up a second for Murphy, a 2.2 instead of 4.4.

23:04I don't see the negative in this trade. No, I know. I love their retention. I love what they get in the player. And I really think that it addresses a big need while still affording them the opportunity to address other needs before the deadline. They're going to have to move on as Yopani to do it. I think he's ready for it. I think that I feel bad for him. It doesn't work out. What do you got coming up tonight in his side sports? A bit of a look at Murphy with Ben Pope from the Chicago Sun Times. We'll hear from who do we have? Gord Wilson at 75. Awesome guy. Awesome guy. That's from TSN 1200, Oh, Nautilus. And then we'll hear from how he draper as well after he announced that this was his last year behind the bench. All right. Tomorrow we'll have a preview of the Euler's and the Senators, Elliott Freeman from NHL Hockey and Rogers for Abe's door service, Brian Lotton will join us, Colin Chock after Baker's field plays tomorrow, all on tomorrow's edition of Oiter's Tale. Up next, need any news whether traffic update with inside sports coming up with Brendan Escott. Two good and co-coffee creamers are made with farm fresh cream, real milk, and contained

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