TALKING POINTS: Bowman speaks following the Trade Deadline

Oilers General Manager & Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations spoke to the media from the Oilers Hall of Fame Room inside Rogers Place after the passing of NHL Trade Deadline on Friday afternoon.

The executive discussed potential trades, making roster moves, the impact of the status of Evander Kane, the addition of players Jake Walman, Trent Frederic & Max Jones earlier this week and more.

Read the full transcript & watch Bowman's media availability in its entirety below:

Bowman on his goaltending philosophy heading toward the NHL Trade Deadline:

“Yeah, it was definitely a hot topic. I see that it’s something everyone likes to talk about and I understand that. I think goaltending, right or wrong, gets the most attention in the game. I think with our two goalies, probably the last stretch hasn't been their best, and that's probably why there's a lot of attention. But I try to look at things over a bigger sample, and I think if you break up [the season], we had a slow start, and I think our goalies didn't get out of the gate strong. And then, from November until probably the end of January, I thought our goaltending was really solid. Ever since then, it hasn't been as good, so it’s understandable, but I do think that last night was a pretty good reference point. I think that's what we can see. I thought Stu made a lot of saves for us and it’s an important position, absolutely.

“We're trying not to put so much pressure on them that they have to save games for us, and I think we did a good job of that as a team for those stretches where our goaltending performed well. I think our team did a good job. I think our team game has escaped us a bit over the last probably five or six weeks, and as a result, it's put more pressure on our goalies. So I'd like to see both things have a little bit of an uptick – the goalie’s performance as well as our team – and not putting them in the position to have to save games for us. So I guess that's my quick assessment on where we're at with the goalies.”

On the added difficulty of trying to move out salary from the roster with certain players holding movement clauses:

“Yeah, I guess it’s true that it can be challenging to move money in today's game. You know, we have a lot of players that really haven't been as consistent as we'd like, so I guess when you look at the performance of our team, then questions start being asked as far as, 'Should you move that player? Should you not move that player?'

"I don't know if that was as much of a factor. It was just that our overall team performance wasn't as strong. So I think sometimes, more gets made of that than is needed. As far as their trade protections, that wasn't a huge factor this week for us.”

On if they took some big swings at some big available players or took a more conservative approach to the Deadline:

“We talked about a lot of things and several things even today that just didn't really get all the way to the finish line. But yeah, I would say that's probably the norm around the league. If you knew everything that might have happened, you'd be surprised, but when you add it all up, we didn't make any additional moves other than the ones that have been announced. There was no added moves today, but not for a lack of trying.

“You're trying to balance a couple things at this time of year. My experience tells you that sometimes, you need to improve areas of your team that have shown over 60 games they aren't strong enough, while other times you can upset the mixture you have if you bring in seven or eight new players. I've done that before and found that you only have 20 games left, so if you have to incorporate a lot of new players, it can be challenging.

“I think we struck the right balance this year as far as the number of new players we have and where they play. In particular, I think Walman's a really big upgrade for our group. He's somebody that we've talked about going back to the middle of the year as a big target. Mike Grier is probably tired of talking to me about him, because I've been told for a long time that he wouldn't trade him. ‘He's got another year. I don't have to trade him,’ but we just kind of stuck with it. And then the other day, when we pitched it to him, I think we got his attention and we eventually got it where he came in. So I think that's a big piece that we're excited about.

"And then, we talked about the desire for our team to have a bit of a different look. I think if you looked at our team as it was before this week, we have a lot of players that are similar up front. They're kind of different versions of the same player. They have different attributes. But for the most part, they're not like Frederic or Jones. Those guys have a much different skill set, and I think it's something that we've been lacking. As a result, it was an important piece for us to address that, so we're looking back now on the moves we made and I'm really excited. I think our staff did a great job. I've got to commend them. They put in a lot of long hours with different ideas to get us to where we are today, and I think we're looking really good."

On the search for top-six wingers to play with Leon Draisaitl and his assessment of the players the Oilers already have to fill those roles:

“It's funny, because I do get this question a fair amount, too. Leon's probably the MVP of the league this year, right? And he's going to lead the league in goals and he's pretty close in points, so he seems to do it with whoever he plays with. I think that's a testament to the season that he's having; that he's not relying on just one linemate. He's had a number of different players there, you're right.

"So who's it going to be going forward? I'm not quite sure yet. I think that we have different options, and I think that's something that's going to I guess unfold over the coming 20 games. I think Podkolzin and Arvidsson have probably spent the most time with him. If you look at the numbers, maybe that's the way it'll be. If not, we have some other guys that might get a look there, too. We have a few new players. I think when Frederic gets in the lineup, we've got to decide if we're going to use them at centre or on the wing, because I think if we're going to play him on the wing, he could play on the top two lines. If we're going to use him in the middle, he's probably on the third line. So that's a couple of weeks away until we're going to know that, but Jones had a really good night last night. Where will he end up? I don't really know that either. But even Kapanen's played a bit with Leon, and he’s been great at centre the last stretch too.

"So I think that we do have a lot of options now, and it's for the coaches to figure out which ones are going to lead us to the most success as a team.”

On the Western Conference getting stronger this Deadline and the greater importance now on winning the Pacific Division:

“Yeah, my experience is no matter who or where you are in the top eight, you're going to play a good team in the first round. It's just the way it is. If you win the division, the Wild Card team is going to be a really strong team, so no question about it, some teams improved quite a bit now at least on paper. Now the question is, how does it all come together with the group they already have? Time will tell. Not every team that looks great now is going to look great if we talk two months from now. Sometimes, things just don't work, so that's why we play the game.

"I think if you try to worry about your opponents too much, then you lose sight of what matters and we've got to do what we do well. If we play our game well and we play it to the best of our ability, we're a really strong team and I think we're a stronger team than we were for that stretch when we. We were one of the top two or three teams in the league, so I think we need to get the group that we had here playing back to that level. And then, when you add in these new pieces and they integrate, I'm very hopeful and optimistic with the group.”

On what he expects from Evander Kane when he returns at some point this season:

“I think a healthy Evander Kane, I'm trying to think of how many guys are like him in the league. There's probably a handful that can play like him with his size, his scoring ability, his intensity, his physicality and intimidation, but it’s a pretty small list of guys. So without a doubt, we want to get him there, and I think the biggest thing is when he's able to play at that level and he's fully healed.

"So I do expect him to be back at some point? We don't exactly know when that will be. It's not going to be in the regular season. Will it be at the start of the playoffs? He will definitely be back playing for us this year, so he's got a lot of elements that can be game-changing. I think another attribute that we like with Frederic and Jones is that when you look at Evander, with Max Jones and Trent Frederic, those are three players who’ll be a handful in a playoff series and I expect and hope they’ll all be there making a difference.”

On adding Jake Walman and the profile of defenceman they were looking to add:

“We're looking for good players, first and foremost. He was a number-one defenceman on their team and they've had a tough year. But you look at the way he's performed, to be able to perform at that level on a team where it's been a struggle a bit this year, I think it shows you how well he's played. So I love his skill set. He's a big guy, maybe he's not super tall, but he’s 6-foot-1 and almost 220 pounds. So he's strong and he can skate, makes plays and is very competitive. He doesn't play a passive game. He's involved in the game and I think our forwards are going to enjoy playing with him, whether he's on the left or a right. I think sometimes that get gets overblown a little bit. Kulak's played a lot on the right this year and he’s had his best year. He's been fantastic for us. So whether Walman plays on the right or whether Kulak does, I think those are options for the coaches. But I think Jake's going to be a big part of this. I think to add someone like that, he's a young guy still. He's got more years ahead of him on his contract, so I think his could be a big, big upgrade for the D.”

On some Oilers forwards not having as good of years as last season and if they can ‘flip a switch’ coming down the stretch:

“I don't know about flipping the switch. I think it's probably more of a process than it is flipping the switch. But I remember sitting in this room when I first started, and I remember saying to the group that the way that sports work is that I think everyone's expectations are that everyone is going to pick up where they left off and be just as good or better the next year. Although I hope that's the case, I know it probably won't be, so we have seen some players that haven't played as well as they did last year.

"That's a bit of the nature of sports though. Sometimes it's just their own individual performance, sometimes it's who they're with and the way the team is playing, so I don't think it's a matter of flipping a switch. If only it was that easy. I think it's probably a little more nuanced than that, and those players, all they can do is take it upon themselves to be the best version of themselves. There's certainly room for growth for a lot of our players.”

On if they plan to carry 24 players (two goalies, eight defencemen, 14 forwards) for the rest of the season:

“I don't know how you do it any other way. This is the time of year where you've only got four recalls after the trade deadline, so it's not like you can be bringing a lot of guys up and down. The system is sort of designed to be this way. The roster opens up as of the deadline, so I think every team's probably got 14 or 15 forwards and eight defencemen. If you don't, then where are you going to get your players from?

"I think it's a competition now. I think it's good to have players looking around to realize that if I'm not on my game, someone's going to take my spot. Maybe that was different earlier in the year when you have a smaller group, but I think now, bring your best every night, and if not, then you're probably going to find yourself out of the lineup.”

On when they came to the determination that Evander Kane would be out for the regular season and how difficult it was navigating the uncertainty:

“Yeah, it's been hard, for sure. Very recently [found out]. The goal all along was to try to give as much time as we could for our doctors and our staff to assess his readiness to return, because some of the complicating factors with Evander is it's not like he has a broken bone. It's pretty obvious. You take an X-ray and you say okay, it's healed or it's not healed, and the return to play is a little bit more concrete. This situation is different.

"He had very involved double surgery, and then he had the knee procedure in January, which wasn't an injury per se. It was just something he had to get cleaned up. But it did set back his training, because when you go through a big surgery like Evander did, there's a couple phases to it: there's just getting back to doing regular things, and then you progress from that and start to heal and then you train. Now, he's beyond all that. He's doing well. But now you got to get into the performance side of it, where you've got to really ramp yourself up to be ready to play in an NHL game where the intensity is super high. So there are certain benchmarks you have to hit. Now that we know where we are and how much time is left, he's not going to be able to close that gap in that amount of time, so it's still not exactly known. It's not like we know he's going to be ready by this date. We just know he's not going to be ready by the end of the regular season, which is why it became clear that we had to look at improving our team a different way because he's not going to be coming back in that time period.”

• RELEASE: Oilers provide Evander Kane update

On when they knew they could use the cap space available from placing Evander Kane on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR):

“Yeah, just the last day. We made that decision, and that's why, fortunately, these trades that we’re discussing didn't have to be executed last week. Because if so, then we wouldn't have been able to. Some trades were made before, but we wouldn't have been able to do that because we didn't have the information. We waited as long as we could to where we said we needed an answer. 'Is he going to be ready or not?'”

On when Trent Frederic could be available to make his Oilers debut:

“We haven't talked about Trent, but I do want to talk about him because I think his game is going to translate really well to our team and to the fans here. I think they're going to love watching Freddy play. I've only met him once, and he's got a great personality. He seems to love life. He's one of those guys who’s upbeat, optimistic, fun to be around, and when the game starts, he plays to win. He's a very competitive guy, and I think he brings an element we just don't have. He's a lot to handle on the ice. He's a big guy and he can score too. He can play centre, so he's got that flexibility to play in the middle or play up the lineup on the wing. I think timing wise, it's a couple of weeks. I don't really know for sure when he's going to play. Certainly before April. I just don't know when that will be.”

On if trade clauses and limited cap space hampered their ability to make moves on Friday before the Deadline:

“No. I think with the cap, there's always ways of having teams retain like we did in Frederic's deal. We had [his salary] cut in half twice, so those are always options. I don't know if it's just trying to find the match of the player and how he's the right player with the right term left that matches up with what you have to offer that team, and some teams aren't looking for prospects. Some teams want a player back, and we're not really in that mode of giving a roster player. We're trying to add to our group, not really do lateral trade, so some teams we weren't a match for just because our group didn't line up with their group.

"We were in on a few things with players that ended up going to other teams, and we couldn't have made that trade because they had a player who was expendable that we didn't, so it's always a match of if you have what the other team is looking for and you’re willing to pay the price. So there are a couple different reasons deals don't happen. I don't think we were handicapped by that. It's just a challenge. Sure, we didn't have an unlimited budget, but at the same time, I was cognizant of not trying to bring in too many new players. I think a fair question is how many bodies are too many to try to integrate with your group and find that chemistry you want? You don't want to spend too much time just trying out all kinds of new combinations. You're trying to win games and you're trying to prepare yourself for the playoffs.

On if they pressured hard enough to improve the team in the McDavid and Draisaitl window of trying to win the Stanley Cup:

“Yeah, I think we're all in to try to win right now. That's been our focus for sure. We don't have many draft picks this year. We got a couple, which is tough on the amateur scouts, but I understand that that's what the price of being a good team. So there was no hesitation to trade first round picks or prospects. You're not just going to carelessly trade them away, but I think that was a big part of the reason we got Walman, because we stepped up and gave him a first rounder and I don't know if they had that from other teams. But I think that's what ultimately got it done for us. We didn't mess around and try to get too cute with it. We saw a player we valued and we went out and got them. So first-round picks are valuable, but players are even more valuable for where we are, so we were aggressive on that front.

On if he’d describe their Deadline strategy as ‘aggressive’:

“Yes, definitely.”

On if other trades around the NHL on Deadline Day impacted any of their decisions:

“I think you're more focused on making your team as good as it can be rather than just trying to react to what other teams do. Because at the end of the day, there are different ways to win and you have certain strengths as a team already and you're trying to either accentuate those strengths or you're trying to figure out the areas where you're weak and to try to fortify those. So of course, you notice what other teams are doing, but I don't think you can try to react and make moves just to make moves because another team did.

"Whenever you're playing a team in a playoff series, first and foremost, you have to be playing great yourself. If you're playing great and you're not winning, then you maybe need to be super focused on how to beat your opponent. But you're not going to beat these teams in the playoffs if you're not playing well, so it's really about getting our group to play. We've got some amazing players here and we've got to do what we can to make sure that everyone around them is at the top of their game, because then when you add that all up, we're going to be a tough team to beat.

On Bouchard taking a step back this season and if he can rediscover a higher level:

“Yeah, Bouch seems to get a lot of talk about him. I think it's partially a sign of how good he is, because he's got 11 goals and you'd think he hasn't scored this year. He got the winning goal last night in overtime. I guess the bar is high for him, and I think anytime he does struggle in a game or has a play that doesn't work, it gets highlighted and I get it. That's the way it works. No, he hasn't been at the top of his game. I think that's fair to say. But he's still a really good player. He does a lot of good things for us.

"You try not to look at the things that maybe stick out in your mind, but just looking at sort of his underlying performance for this season, he's had tremendous performances this year. He does a lot of things really well. But yeah, he can play better and we want him to, and I'm sure he wants to, but he's still playing pretty good. I think that he does get a lot of attention and like I said, I think for the amount of talk there is, you'd think he just scored his first goal last night.”

On not matching offer sheets for Dylan Holloway & Philip Broberg last offseason and if they were able to maximize that flexibility this Deadline:

“I think all you can really do is deal with the information you have at the time. So at the time, Evander was not going to have this setback and that would have been a different decision if you knew that he wasn't going to play this year. But that's a little bit of rewriting history, so I think given where we are and the players that we've added, through that whole process, Emberson and Podkolzin have been really good players for us. I think they've come in and I would say they've certainly exceeded my expectations for how they're going to incorporate into our group. They're two young guys, we are an older team, so to have them come in and look like they're going to be parts of our future I think is a positive thing.

“In particular, the most recent couple of moves we made, I think we got guys that aren't older. I mean, they're not like 20 to 21, but they're on the younger side of additions to a team at the deadline and I think that's going to bode well for us.

On asset management (draft picks, prospects) heading into 2027:

“Boy, that's a tough one to predict two years out. I think there's a lot that changes over a six-month period or a year to two years out. You know, we certainly have our staff where part of their job is to be looking two and three years down the road, and I love that about the group we have here on the analytics side and the scouting side. They're spending their time really giving me options and different scenarios that we might have to look into down the road, so you're constantly balancing the present with the future."

“I don't want to give the impression that the future doesn't matter, but I think if you're trying to decide between the two, we're clearly not a team that's looking to build and be better three years from now relative to now. I think now, the present is what matters with this group, and I think there's a lot of ways to maintain that over time. If we do our job in our scouting and our player development side and our analytics, even though we don't have as many assets as some of these other teams, I think we can still be competitive and be a team that can maintain that level for years to come.

On their desire to keep young prospects like Matt Savoie and Sam O’Reilly past this Deadline:

“Yeah, I think they've both had tremendous seasons. We'll talk a little bit about Matt, because he was up here and he played some games for us. I was really impressed with his progression from training camp to where he was a week ago and just to see his growth as a player. I think the whole idea sending him down to Bakersfield early was to give him minutes and give him a role that he was not going to have in Edmonton. He wouldn't play 20 minutes a game up here, so he wouldn't have the opportunity to grow as a player. He was a great player last year in junior. He scored a ton and played a ton, and when you step up to be a pro, you still need to play a lot if you want to grow as a player.

"But it's harder. Your opponents are all much better than they were a year ago. You're playing against people in their 30s, so there's the strength issue. But he had a great attitude. He embraced being in Bakersfield. He never complained. He wasn't sour about being there. He really embraced the penalty kill role, which I think was important for looking at our team here. Matt's always been a power-play player. He's probably not going to be on our power play, certainly not right now even if he's here, so how can he contribute? Well, that's where we had him being on the penalty kill there, and he was great at it. He didn't have a lot of experience at that before, but he's blocking shots. He's out there late in games to protect the lead, so his game really grew and he's a much better player. I think he's a guy that's going to be a factor for us for many years. I love his attitude and I think he's just going to keep improving.

“And Sam is obviously still in junior, but he's had a great year as well. Our development group deserves a lot of credit. They've put in a lot of time with Sam. Really impressed with his ability to impact the game in a couple of different ways. He's not just an offensive player. He's got good numbers, but he doesn't even get that many offensive looks. He's on a really good team there, so he probably doesn't get featured as much as he would, but sort of the other aspects of his game have really grown too. So very encouraging to see where he is after just one year of development and excited to keep working with him.

On taking a big swing at big players like MIkko Rantanen and Brad Marchand:

"I thought I might get that question. We took a swing at a lot of things. I don't want to comment specifically on those players, but I'll say that we were aggressive trying to make things happen, but obviously none of those did."