TALKING POINTS: Bowman speaks following Friday's trades with Pittsburgh & Nashville

Oilers General Manager & Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman spoke via Zoom on Friday morning to discuss the trades for goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with defenceman Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick were involved in the deal with the Penguins to acquire Jarry & Poulin, while a 2027 third-round selection was sent to the Predators in the trade for Stastney. Full terms of the deals are available here.

Bowman discussed Jarry's fit with the Oilers, along with those of Poulin & Stastney, the impact that both Skinner & Kulak had on the team, and more.

Watch the availability and read the full transcript with Bowman in its entirety below:

Bowman on the trade to acquire Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh for Stuart Skinner and how it changes the goaltending position for the Oilers:

“We've done a lot of work on this position. Obviously, it gets a lot of attention. Tristan's had a really consistent performance as a pro, right up until last season, so it was certainly something we looked into, and we wanted to see how he started this year. We've watched him very closely, and we've been impressed with his performance over the course of his career. I think he's shown to be a very solid goaltender. A lot of the metrics that we track, he's been very good on those for many years and on a large sample size.”

“I just felt it was time for something different. It's not so much a comment on Stuart Skinner; it's just maybe time for something different here. We felt confident in the fact that [Jarry's] got two more years on his contract, so we have our goalie for the next three playoff runs, which I think is important.

"Knowing that he's signed, it's a number that we're going to be able to manage well in our salary cap over the coming seasons, so I think those factors did play a role. When you add it all up, it wasn't just about a couple of games here or there. It was about a career sample size and the fact that he's going to be with us for three playoff rounds.”

Bowman on Jarry’s injury history, playoff experience and what he’s seen to believe that he’s the goalie who can backstop them to a Stanley Cup:

“I think sometimes, your playoff success or your record is in line with where your team is and their trajectory. Certainly, the Oilers have been on a good trajectory the last few seasons, probably a little different than where Pittsburgh has been. So that's part of it. It's that old adage of sample size, where you look at a goalie and how he's performed over a few hundred or a thousand shots. Those are different, and it tends to show you what that goalie can be.

"It always comes down to one or two moments for every goalie – not just for Oilers goalies, but everyone's measured by what they remember from a playoff series. There are a lot of things that have to happen to get your team to that point, and we think that Tristan has a very solid track record as a good goalie.”

Bowman on if they’d discussed a new contract for Skinner before the trade:

“No, we didn't have any negotiations yet with Stuart. It was something we were going to assess as the year went on, and I think that's one of the things that was attractive about this deal was not only that Tristan is signed, but he’s signed in today's marketplace and the way the cap is at a very manageable number. You look at some of the recent goaltenders that signed over this past summer, and I think Tristan's cap is very manageable.”

Bowman on if he expects Jarry to join the Oilers for the start of their five-game road trip in Toronto on Saturday:

“Yeah, I spoke to him shortly after and indicated that we'd be getting him going, and his plan is to join us there in Toronto for the game tomorrow.”

Bowman on Brett Kulak being part of the deal, his impact on the Oilers, how they’ll replace his minutes, and the acquisition of Spencer Stastney:

“Brett was a great Oiler, and he was excellent in the playoffs last year. There's no doubt about that. With where he was in his contract, being in the last year of his deal, we were able to acquire Spencer Stastney, who's six years younger and a very similar style of player. The thing we've liked about Stastney is his excellent mobility. He's a great skater, a lot of quickness, and he's been very effective in the penalty kill. And he's got some offence to his game as well.

"I think he hasn't really reached his true potential yet. He's 25 years old, so we've been able to reshape our defence a bit here in the last year. We've now got three guys that are 25, and Bouch is 26, so we've got four younger defencemen that are all in those prime years. I think Spencer is someone who probably not a lot of people are too familiar with, but I do think he plays a very similar style game to Kulak, and that was important for us as part of this deal. We certainly weren't trying to trade Brett Kulak. He's a great person and a great player on our team. We're going to miss him. But in order to make the transaction work with the money going back and forth, that had to be part of it. So we wanted to make sure that we addressed our defence in the same manner.”

“I'm very encouraged by what Spencer can bring to the table, and I think when you get a chance to watch him play, you'll see the similarities there in their games. I think that's why we're pretty encouraged. We've got some young defencemen now that, like something I spoke about early in the year, are going to improve, and we've seen that with some of our young guys already. They're going to continue to get better as we give them opportunities. It's different from having a vet back there, but I think we still have Nurse, Ekholm, Walman, and Bouch, so we've got some younger guys we're working in. I think once we give them the opportunity, they can show us that they can make a difference in our lineup.”

Bowman on if something changed in the last 24-48 hours to speed up the trade and Jarry's potential:

“No, I think that the biggest thing is if you look at Tristan's track record, he's been a very strong performer for a number of years. I think just last season was the only time when he had a stretch where it wasn't at the same level, so we wanted to see how he started the season off, and I think he's been doing really well there in Pittsburgh. I think he's a big part of the reason their team is off to such a great start, probably surprising some people in the Eastern Conference, being as good as they've been.

"Watching his performance, it solidified in our minds that he’s the goalie we’d seen for many years. His performance has been very good.”

Bowman on if Calvin Pickard will remain with the team after today’s move:

“Yes, he will remain with the team.”

Bowman on acquiring Samuel Poulin from Nashville in a separate deal for a 2027 third-round pick:

“Well, he's gonna go to Bakersfield to start. But he's got a lot of talent, and he's a big kid with skill. He's probably 6-foot-2, over 220 pounds, and he's having a great season so far in the American League at a point per game. So he's been a highly regarded player for a while.

“It hasn't all quite come together. He's played in some NHL games, but he's kind of at that age where guys hopefully can take that next step and become an NHL player. So we do like the overall combination of the size, the skill, and the ability to play both ways. He’s had an excellent start to the season in Wilkes-Barre, and we want to get him in our system here in Bakersfield and then make an assessment on if he would be in the mix in Edmonton. But he's got a lot of different parts to his game that are attractive, and we're hopeful that those will translate.”