Oilers GM goes after fans for unfair criticism toward defenseman
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"It's just weird," Stan Bowman said recently, when asked to comment on the fans' criticism of Evan Bouchard, and in support of the Oilers' star defenseman's new contract.
Speaking with John Shannon and Darren Millard on 100% Hockey podcast, Bowman defended Evan Bouchard and his newly-inked 4-year deal, and his $10.5M per year cap hit.
"You know, he had a great playoff the year before I joined,» Bowman said. «And then I got to watch him close. And he's a very good player. I think probably he takes too much criticism I've tried to push back a bit on some of the media that are hard on him. I don't think he makes any more mistakes than other guys. It's just when he does, they tend to get highlighted more I don't know why that is.
He's an amazing player Yeah, he has turnovers, but so does everybody It's just weird. For some reason, his seem to get magnified."
He's an amazing player Yeah, he has turnovers, but so does everybody It's just weird. For some reason, his seem to get magnified."
Turnovers are indeed the biggest issue with Evan Bouchard, and are the main source of fans' criticism of him. Yet, according to Stan Bowman, turnovers must be weighed against all the things he does well, like launching blistering shots on net, making great stretch passes to spring forwards, as well as defending well positionally.
According to a recent report, in 2025, Evan Bouchard made 1.75 stretch passes for a Grade A shot, for every turnover he made that led to a Grade A shot 5v5. In contrast, the team average was 0.81 pass per turnover, almost half of Bouchard's. In other words, Evan contributed to almost twice as many high-danger chances for the Oilers.
In the playoffs, Evan Bouchard was by far the Oilers' best defenseman in the last two seasons. There is much to like about the young defenseman, which more than compensates for his deficiencies.
Evan is the kind of player that comes through when you need him mostly, a skill that cannot be taught, but is inherent in high-level athletes who understand the moment, game-changers of which there are only a few.
According to Stan Bowman, Bouchard is the kind of player who can drive a team to Stanley Cup wins and Olympic gold medals - hard to criticize that.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 31 | 379 ANSWERS Oilers GM goes after fans for unfair criticism toward defenseman Do you believe Evan Bouchard's criticism is justified? | ||
| yes | 223 | 58.8 % |
| no | 156 | 41.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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