Jeff Jackson inadvertently exposes true feelings on Stan Bowman’s hiring

It was made official on Wednesday that Stan Bowman was making his return to the NHL as the Edmonton Oilers hired him as their new general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations.

Along with Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and fellow executive Al MacIsaac, Bowman was banned in 2021 from holding executive positions in the NHL after an independent investigation revealed that they had mishandled allegations of sexual assault raised by a former player, who later identified himself as Kyle Beach, regarding the team’s video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

All three executives involved were officially reinstated by the NHL on July 1 and were eligible to sign a contract as of July 10. Bowman had been rumoured to be the leading candidate for the vacant spot in Edmonton, and the Oilers made it all official on Wednesday.

Fans have been quite vocal on the bad decision made by the Oilers with his hiring, with some even suggesting that he could go on to sign controversial players like Milan Lucic or even goalie Carter Hart, who has been named in an investigation into the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal. Oilers and CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson say they are confident with their pick and believe in the new Bowman. During the introductory press conference, Jackson said this about the backlash from the fanbase: “I’m not worried about it. My job is to try to make an elite organization and have people that are collaborative and progressive and good people and I think Stan is all of those things.”

However, something was done by the Oilers’ top executive that got people wondering about his true feelings. When announcing that Bowman was the new GM in Edmonton, Jackson also made his X account private and protected, meaning he does not want to hear any of the backlash on his decision to hire Bowman:

Fans have a lot to say about Jackson’s move as the Oilers CEO of hockey operations and Bowman have been trending all day long. There is even a petition going around to stop the Oilers’ agreement with Bowman.

I believe in second chances, though Bowman needs to be accountable and the Oilers need to support him, in much better ways than Jackson exposing his fear of hiring him in Edmonton.