Stan Bowman spent more than 30 minutes Wednesday explaining why the Oilers signed Alex Formenton, and he never pretended everyone would be fine with it.
Caprice St-Pierre wrote the session up for The Hockey News, and the general manager did not dodge a single part of it.
The deal itself is small. One year at $850,000, signed earlier this month.
Bowman said the club saw the reaction coming. They knew going in this was something that was not going to be universally accepted or embraced.
He also left room for the people who disagree. He understands they will view it differently, and said everyone is entitled to strong feelings on it.
On the legal record, the winger and four other former Canadian world junior players charged in that case were acquitted in July 2025.
Bowman pointed to his own conversations with the player. He said he has grown a lot in the intervening years and has shown that growth.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman addresses massive Alex Formenton controversy
That is the number sitting underneath all of this. More than 65,000 people have signed on asking Edmonton to terminate the deal.
The general manager did not wave it off. Asked about fans tired of the club being associated with second chances, he called that understandable.
He said it is not for him to tell anybody how they should or should not feel. That is a more honest answer than most executives give.
Now the hockey part, which has been buried under everything else. His last NHL season was 2021-22 in Ottawa, where he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games.
Three seasons in Switzerland followed. He is back at 27 with what is realistically one shot at an NHL career.
He opened camp on a line with Colton Dach and Mathieu Joseph. That is an audition for a job, not a role anybody promised him.
Meanwhile the actual problem has not moved. Tristan Jarry is coming off a .882 save percentage and Frederik Andersen is out until at least October 20.
Matthew Savoie carries the same return date. That is the depth Edmonton was supposedly protecting.
The team went 41-30-11 and finished 14th while scoring 282 goals. Anaheim still ended their season in six games.
Bowman closed with the line that will follow him. He wants to do right by the community and be judged on what the organization does moving forward.
So what exactly does $850,000 buy a team whose biggest hole is in the crease?
A contract that size usually gets three lines in a transactions column. This one arrived with its own weather system.
Winnipeg visits Saturday for the preseason opener. Every shift this player takes in Edmonton is going to be counted twice, and Bowman knew that before he signed anything.
Should the Oilers have signed Alex Formenton knowing the reaction it would bring?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Police get involved as Connor Hellebuyck and his family endure a tough scenario in Winnipeg
