Bowman provides his perspective on Paul Coffey re-joining the Oilers bench:
“At the break, I had conversations with Kris [Knoblauch]. It’s kind of a unique situation to have a break in February. You never have a couple of weeks off like that. Normally, you have a day or two between games. We weren’t playing well heading into the break, and I think it was obvious that we had to do something to change our group. In talking to Kris, that idea came up. Kris brought it up to me and said, ‘Do you have any thoughts?’ and then we talked it through.”
“I look back at Paul’s contributions last year and his perspective, and he was involved with our team this whole year, but not in a detailed way like the coaching staff does day to day. And then talking to Paul, I felt he could add something to our group. I think when you add it all up, he’s familiar with our guys because he was here the last two years, but he also had some distance from our group the last few months. So that combination, I think, is good. When you’re not behind the bench, you sometimes have a different view on things, so I thought I was kind of in agreement that it was something to help our group.”
“Just talking to Paul this morning about what I was just talking about, and I think he sees that as the coach, too, and I think we have to have a different mentality to be more successful. So that’s kind of how it all came to be.”
Bowman on being able to clear cap space before Friday’s Trade Deadline:
“I think we’ll be able to do some things. And as I said, it’d be nice to bring a player or two in, but we have a lot of good players here, and they’re talented. It’s a talented group. I think there’s more from within. That’s probably the way that we’re going to become a better team. Certainly, adding a player or two is something we’re looking for, and I think it can be helpful. But it’s not like it’s going to completely change the fortunes of our team. We’ve got a lot of really good players here, and it’s that commitment from our group to play smarter hockey, winning hockey, that I think is going to probably pay the biggest dividends.
“But yes, we’re always looking to add a player or two. I think we’ve been able to do that the last few years, and they’ve made contributions, positive ones, and I’m hopeful that we can do that this year too.”
Bowman on adding to the blueline this Trade Deadline despite trying to address the situation earlier this season with the trades involving Brett Kulak & Spencer Stastney:
“Looking at where we are now, I think Spencer’s played well for us. I don’t think Spencer vs. Kulak is really the issue. It’s more maybe a different type of player coming in there. If we’re going to add somebody, we might add a defenceman, we might add a forward, and we’ve had conversations on both of those, but I don’t see that being the issue. I think if you’re adding a defenceman, you can never have too many D going into a playoff run, so I wouldn’t really agree with that portrayal of it. I think something that our group has struggled to have is the right mentality, so adding a new player to our mix would be good, but I guess I don’t equate it the same way.”
Bowman on if he’ll be involved in the goaltending market at the Trade Deadline:
“I think our goaltending hasn’t played great, but at the same time, I think a bigger problem is that we put our goalies in a really tough spot. I think they can be better. I’m not trying to communicate that they’ve had their A game or played at an elite level, but I think if you’re stuck on the numbers, you kind of have to watch the games, which I know you guys [the media] do as well. We put our goalies in some really tough spots, and I don’t think that’s a winning formula, no matter who you have in that.
“I’d like to see our goalies find some more consistency in their game. I think the better way to do that is not only for them to find their game, but for us to put them in situations where they’re more likely to find it. I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of that this year, especially the last month or so. There was a stretch from mid-December to mid-January when you went back and watched some of those games, we weren’t putting ourselves in so many bad spots. I think our goaltending looked solid in those times, so I think we need to find our game. I’m not absolving them. I think they can certainly play better. But I think the way that we play as a team is going to play a bigger role than that, more than just a new person in the uniform.”
