TALKING POINTS: Bowman discusses Thursday's coaching staff changes

Oilers General Manager & Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman spoke to the media over video conference call to discuss the decision to relieve Head Coach Kris Knoblauch & Assistant Coach Mark Stuart of their duties on Thursday.

The executive answered questions about last season's results, the need to complete a full evaluation of the organization, potential timelines for hiring a new coach, and more.

Read the full transcript and watch Bowman's entire availability below.

Bowman on the decision to relieve Kris Knoblauch & Mark Stuart of their coaching duties, with Knoblauch having been signed to an extension last October:

“Sure, I'll get to that in one moment. I just want to start by welcoming everyone. Thank you for taking the time here, and I want to start by thanking Kris Knoblauch and Mark Stuart for their hard work. They're excellent coaches and tremendous guys. They did everything they could every day. They're really hard workers, and I enjoyed my experience with them. These are tough decisions. I wish them nothing but the best going forward. I think they're really good hockey minds, and they have a bright future, so to answer your question, this is a tough decision, no question.

“Looking back at how we ended the previous season, falling just short of the Stanley Cup in the two seasons Kris had with the team, we felt that the decision to give him a contract extension was the right one. And then at the end of the year, when I met with the group in the media and my availability, I mentioned that we were going to do a thorough review to try to understand how we got to this point. We had a disappointing end to our season, losing in the first round, and, when you take the season as a whole, it was a year we were never able to get going. It wasn't just a slow start or maybe a tough stretch in the middle of the year. Those things happen to all teams. You have some ups and downs, but we didn't have a lot of ups this year. We were kind of right around the middle all year long. So when we performed our analysis and our review about where we were heading as a team, we just felt that we needed a different voice to lead us to where we want to go.

"So a difficult decision without a doubt, but it was based on the way this entire year played out – not just small sections or the playoffs. It was really the total year.”

Bowman on the process of evaluating the head coaching position since the season ended and deciding to make a change next year with Knoblauch still under contract:

“Well, the process we went forward with was what I talked about in my year-end availability, which was a full assessment and review, and those things take time. It wasn't something we wanted to rush into. I don't believe there's value in making rash decisions in emotional times. There was disappointment when our season ended the way it did, but I think you have to set that aside and take your time, which is what we did. We did an evaluation of our whole operation, not just the coaching, but that was a big part of it in trying to talk to a lot of different people, analyze what went well and what didn't, so those things take time. I understand that people want things to happen quicker, but it takes as long as it takes. And, you know, we didn't. We wanted to do it justice by conducting a thorough review, which took time.

Bowman on the decision to relieve Knoblauch of his duties despite his two previous trips to the Stanley Cup Final with the Oilers:

“I'm not going to comment on media reports about other candidates. It’s not appropriate to be doing that. I think I can say we didn't rush through this. We did the analysis, and as I said at the outset, Kris is a tremendous guy. I have a lot of respect for him as a person and as a coach, but we didn't make our decision until very recently. And then once that decision was made, that we felt we had to make a change, then it became important to meet with people in person rather than on the phone.

"So it was more of a logistical thing that it took until late last night before Kris and I were able to actually sit down and talk it through, so that's unfortunate. But there was certainly no disrespect intended. We did a long review, and we didn't come to this decision until very recently.”

Bowman on the accountability of management in making a coaching change:

“Well, I think we were definitely partly to blame for where we are today. We're not trying to hide from that. I think when a team doesn't have success, there are usually multiple reasons for that. It's typically not just the coach or the players or management. In my experience in hockey over many years, on teams that don't have success, there's usually culpability in many different areas. So there's no question that was the case here.

"We have a team where we had players who didn't perform at the level they should have. We had players I brought in who didn't perform at the level we expected, so that's on me. There's blame to be had by all of us, myself included, and part of that review that we did was to examine how we got to this point. But in that conversation, there was the discussion of ‘where are we at now?’ and do we have the belief that maybe a different voice would be able to tap into the players that we have to a different degree and get us to another level, and that's the decision that we made.

"So this is not all on Kris Knoblauch and Mark Stuart. That's not the case, but in the assessment, we believe that there can be some better performances from players here, and we need that for our team to be successful.”

Bowman on looking at potential coaching options to replace Knoblauch despite him still being under contract:

“I understand you want sort of a behind-the-scenes breakdown on what happened, but again, I'm going to say what we did is when our season finished, we committed to everyone that we were going to do a thorough review. That's what we did, and that involved a lot of different things – talking to players, talking to people in the front office, and also looking at the different underlying numbers of our team. In that process, we came to the decision that we thought a change was needed.

"So as far as these other rumours and this speculation on how exactly things played out, I don't think it's proper to go into that. I can tell you we conducted a thorough review of our operations and felt a change was necessary to take the next step.”

Bowman on the improvements that need to be made beyond the coaching staff:

“Well, I think there are a few different ways to improve. You can certainly bring new players in. That's possible, or you can bring back a lot of the same players but emphasize different aspects of how you want to play. I guess it's a system of play that your team plays, so that's certainly in the coaching realm, but also, the type of team that takes the players that you have and utilizes their talents in the best way, so that's part of this next phase.

"Once we get beyond this, our attention turns to speaking to coaches, and we plan to do a wide search and talk to a number of coaches to understand their philosophies on what they would see and envision with our team with the current group, as well as what other types of players they think are going to help them play their system to the best. Then we need to ask: do we have those players? Can we acquire those players? So the next phase is that there has to be an alignment between the strengths of a coach, and not every coach does it the same way. There are different styles for success, and if you look around at the NHL and the teams that are having success this year in the playoffs, they have different ways of doing it.

"So there's not a single methodology, but I think there has to be one that matches the core group of players we have. We're not going to be changing out a significant portion of our roster, so when you take a look at those players, what they do well, and then you start talking to coaches about how they envision using those players, you have to listen, and then you have to choose the one that you think is going to be able to maximize the players. So that's yet to play out, but that's next on the horizon for us.”

Bowman on what he’s looking to do differently in constructing the Oilers roster & coaching staff based on how he feels the Oilers need to play moving forward:

“I think we weren't able to build a consistent game this year. I guess the one consistent thing was our power play throughout the year, which was consistently good. That was a strength. After that, it was a bit of a mixed bag. I think we had elements of it. There were times we showed that we could be a strong defensive team, but it was very in and out. There were times when we could score a lot of goals, but there were times when we also struggled to score early on, so there wasn't anything that was able to be a foundational piece besides the power play.

"You need to have a sort of hallmark as a team that, when things do start to slip a little bit in a season, what's your baseline that you can always go back to? I don't think we had that. We had a power play, but sometimes we don't get many power plays. So to have that be your foundational piece, it wasn't good enough to get us to where we had to be. So I think we have to build that. We have to find that. What could it be? That's going to be up to the coach. That's really more of a coaching thing.”

Bowman on how much of the improvement needs to come from the players needing to be better committed defensively as a group:

“Well, you're right. At the end of the day, the coaches aren't on the ice. The players are on the ice doing it. So yes, it's true, but part of it is how you can hold them accountable or enforce that to a greater degree. At the end of the day, it is the players who are jumping over the boards and making things happen or not. They've shown they can do it, but if they don't always do it, then the question is how can we get there? You could just change out the players. I guess that could be one approach, but the other approach is, can you find a coach that can get the most out of those guys? I think that's what we're looking for.”

Bowman on the internal pressure to win the Stanley Cup impacting decisions:

“That's an interesting insight. I do think there's an element to that, and I guess what I would say is I've learned over time that when you focus on the result, it's different than if you can focus on the process. Because the process doesn’t always lead to the result, but the process is what gives you the best chance to have the result that you all want.

“So I think you're right – it's no secret how desperate this group that's been here is to winning like they want it. They're so driven. But I think when you're focusing just on that last step of the process, then that's not the best way to do it. It's challenging. But I think what we have to do is a better job, not just the players or the coaches, but management is focused on the process because if we can get that right, the results typically will come from that. There's an element of randomness to sport, there's an element of luck, there's an element of bounces, but I think when you only focus on the result, it's not the best way to approach it.

"So that is something that we've talked about a lot in the last couple of weeks here, which is that we have to focus on the process of getting ourselves there. I think we saw that this year, where it's like we had an up-and-down regular season, but when it matters most, we'll flip that switch and be ready to go. I think we saw that it doesn't work that way. You’ve got to have your process set the table for where you're headed, and that's something we're going to focus on.”

Bowman on the timeline to hire a new Head Coach & Assistant Coach:

“I don't have a timeline on it. My simple answer would be we're going to go through a process like I just spoke about, but we're not looking to drag this out. It'll take as long as it takes. I don't know that yet. We're not going to rush into anything in the next couple days here, but I think we are going to let that play out. So we're not going to stretch it out any longer than it needs to be, whether that's a week, 10 days or two weeks.”

Bowman on any differences in philosophy between the coaches & management:

“I don't know if that was a big issue. I've always operated on the idea that at the end of the day, the coach has to coach the way he believes is right. They've got to win the game that night, and it gets difficult when you start mandating coaches. They have to play certain players in certain roles or certain minutes because then if things don't go well, you can't hold them accountable. But we didn't do that. It wasn’t always totally in sync, but I don't think any team in the league is. I don't know if that was a big issue. There are certainly some players whose roles maybe weren't what they should have been, but I don't think that was an overriding issue. I think that there's a balance between collaboration, which I think we did have, but at the end of the day, the coach has to do what he believes is best and then from there the results are judged. That's how we got to this point.

Bowman on consulting with Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl in the hiring process for a new coach:

“Yeah, we certainly will talk to them, but like they don't want to be choosing coaches. That's not their role, and they're in a different category than just a regular player. They're elite players that know this team and know their game, so I think we'll have conversations with them, but they're not choosing coaches. Number one, they don't want to do that. They don't have the depth of knowledge of how to interact with a coach and a manager. There are a lot of elements that they're just not privy to, and they don't want the pressure of choosing a coach. So they're not going to be picking the coach.

"But certainly, I think they will have conversations as we go through it, but they're not going to be in on the interviews or anything like that. I think it's more about general things about their game and our team in general. So yes, we'll talk to them, but they're not going to be in the decision-making.”

Bowman on having the opportunity to make his own choice for Head Coach:

“There's an element of that, but this is the element of sports that's the toughest part, which is like when Kris came into the Oilers. He was the perfect coach at that time. He's exactly what that group needed to take them almost to the Stanley Cup, Game 7 and then Game 6, but as time passes, things change. As things change for the coaches themselves, the players change as well, and even the players who are here, they evolve. As they get a couple of years older, they need maybe different things, so what worked one year or for a couple of years, if it doesn't continue to work, then that's where we are in the results business.

"I think there's an element of that at play here, which is at this moment in time where we are sitting here today talking, we made the decision that we think a different voice can help us get to that next level. That is essentially the element of sports."

Bowman on improvements starting with the top of the lineup getting better defensively:

“I think that would help. There's no question that there's always that give and take. I've been fortunate to be around elite offensive players, and there is that fine line where they do things that no one else can do. There is an element of risk to that, so I think it's calibrating that. How can you take away from what they can do that no one else can? But you're right, there are elements of their game that at times weren't a strength, so that would help without a doubt. It's not just those guys. I think it goes across the lineup.

"I think sometimes when I've also seen this is when you have a team with some elite offensive players, and you're around those guys every day, watching them in practice, and you're on the bench watching them do this in games, you start to think, “Well, maybe I can try that,’ and then you've got players that don't have the ability to pull it off at nearly the success rate that the top guys do, and then they start trying to play that way and then that's a bad combination. So I think you're right. There's an element of that. I don't want to say it's just on them, though. I think that they can improve that part of their game, and I think our team in general can and needs to if we want to be successful.”

Bowman on some of the longer-tenured coaches in the NHL being with their teams for five-to-10 years as the Oilers look to make another change:

“Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I can't really speak to what happened before I got here. I think I'm just trying to react in the moment of where we are and what I think our team needs. I think continuity is good, for sure. I think with continuity, usually, where there's continuity, there's success. We have had success here so recently before that I can't speak as much to it, but it's a fair point that stability is a good thing. Obviously, that's something we have in mind. Whoever we choose to come in here, you're hoping it can be a long relationship, and you know that's the goal because I think stability is a good thing. But you have to react to where we are today and what we think will get us to that next level, and we felt that this was a necessary step.”

Bowman on reports of Evan Bouchard playing with a concussion during the playoffs:

“No, that's not accurate.”

Bowman on ownership of the season’s result by the top players after a challenging year or the Oilers:

“There's probably an element of accountability that's always good, like self-accountability. I think my experience talking to those players is that they recognize that when you don't reach your desired goals, you do have to find a way to improve. So that was my experience talking to them. I think there was frustration and disappointment with this year. I don't think anybody was walking out feeling great about where the team is. So I think, yes, to answer your question, there's an element of responsibility that's necessary, and hopefully the new coach can bring that out of these players.”