Oilers GM Stan Bowman impressed with the play of acquisitions Walman, Klingberg

Stan Bowman’s fingerprints on this Edmonton Oilers team didn’t seem large at the start of the season.

After all, the Oilers hired Bowman in late July, well after the majority of offseason work was done. His first order of business was to kick off conversations with Leon Draisaitl about a contract extension, but it didn’t take long for other, more pressing things came to the forefront: offer sheets for Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.

“We almost went into trade deadline mode for that week,” Bowman said Tuesday. “We were having meetings every day analyzing different options, so it was a different summer from that perspective.”

While those were declined, and the Oilers swung trades for Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson — the latter of whom has already signed an extension — they weren’t players who had major impacts on the team this year, despite overall solid play from both of them.

Bowman’s difference-making moves came during the season— signing defenceman John Klingberg to a one-year contract in January and trading for another blue liner in Jake Walman ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline. Those moves have paid dividends, as the two have formed the Oilers’ second pairing in the playoffs, looking dominant in their 110 five-on-five minutes. They’ve outscored the opposition 4-2, dominating the expected goal share to the tune of 63.6 percent, posting similar scoring chance share metrics, too.

Suffice to say Bowman has been impressed with what he’s seen from the duo.

“Well, they’re playing great,” said Bowman. “I think with our defence in general, one thing – if you’ve watched our team this year – is that Paul Coffey likes to mix the pairs up. We did have a stretch there where we had a lot of consistency, and then once we had a few injuries and some new players, there were a lot of changes.

“I think they both have some similarities to their game, but they also approach it a little bit differently. I think fundamentally, their strengths are that they can make plays with the puck to help our forwards out. That was something that we talked about early in the season, that we’d like to try to add a player or two who could give our forwards a better opportunity to score. We are an offensive team, and I think in transition we’re really good, so the more opportunities you can give those players to get the puck on their stick when they need it at the right moment, I think that’s important. Also, in the offensive zone, they’ve got the mobility, patience, and poise to make plays, so they’ve done a really good job together. I think even when they’ve been with other partners, they’ve found a way to contribute as well.”

Bowman went on to say the team had first been in contact with Klingberg in November, months before there was word about a potential comeback after missing nearly all of the 2023-24 season due to hip surgery.

And while they knew it would take some time for him to get back up to game speed — doubly so considering he was dealing with an injury in March and April unrelated to the surgery — Bowman felt it was just a matter of time before he found his game.

“I wasn’t surprised that he’s been able to play this well,” he said. “We weren’t sure how quickly he would get his game, and I think it took some time, but he was a great player here in Dallas for a long time, so you don’t really lose your ability.

“A lot of the things that John does well are instinctive. They are things that you don’t lose over time, but you do need your body to cooperate and do what you want to do, and I think he’s gotten to that point now, and he’s been a nice player for us.”

Klingberg and Walman will continue to be key players for the Oilers as they progress through the playoffs, especially against a team like the Dallas Stars.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Final starts tonight at 6:00 pm MT.

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