Legend Wayne Gretzky calls out Stan Bowman for Blackhawks scandal

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Joshua Deeds
July 19, 2024 (9:36)

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NHL Legend Wayne Gretzky let Stan Bowman know how badly he messed up in Chicago. Under Bowman's leadership the Kyle Beach incident ruined his and the Blackhawks reputation.

Bowman let Brad Aldrich run free in the organization, while not investigating the issue during one of the team's cup runs in the 2010s.

As a result he resigned in 2021, which led to Kyle Davidson becoming full-time GM, after spending time with the interim GM tag attached.

Bowman, now able to be hired after being reinstated by Gary Bettman and the NHL after the draft, is under consideration for the GM job elsewhere.

One place he could end up is in Edmonton, one of Wayne Gretzky's stomping grounds, and his brother is currently AGM for the organization.

Keith Gretzky has helped run the team under Ken Holland, and arguably has done a good job.

However, Bowman has won multiple Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks which makes him a very attractive candidate, despite the baggage attached.

In case the Oilers think the fear of hiring Stan Bowman as GM has blown over, here is Wayne Gretzky saying "I'm sitting here thinking, as a parent 'My son is 18 years old and he's going to maybe be drafted by that team...I want to know my 18-yr-old son is going to be protected."

Gretzky isn't wrong for bringing up his concern and the Blackhawks team under Bowman was lackadaisical in it's practices as it missed Brad Aldrich's malevolent practices.

Gretzky is a legend in the NHL, and if he's calling you out, you as a former GM need to re-consider old practices and figure out a new way to run a team in the future, especially one as iconic as the Edmonton Oilers.

Bowman has three-Stanley Cups to his name, but an incident that will keep his reputation tarnished until he really redeems himself in the eyes of the NHL faithful.