Oilers’ Bowman Calls Out D-Man Josh Brown After Poor Preseason

The Edmonton Oilers aren’t hiding their feelings when it comes to the efforts of players they expect to be a part of the team’s quest to win the Stanley Cup in 2024-25. Holding everyone, big contract or small, accountable might be a theme this year. For Josh Brown, he’s learning early that he needs to be better.

During the offseason, the Oilers signed a handful of players, including Josh Brown on a three-year contract extension. While not a terribly expensive deal ($1 million AAV), it was surprising in terms of length as Brown didn’t really warrant that level of commitment based on his previous seasons. So, when he didn’t play well in camp or preseason, few fans were shocked.

Stan Bowman made an appearance on Bob Stauffer’s Oilers Now show Monday. Bowman made some comments about the competition on the Oilers roster and then talked about the decision to waive Brown and send him down to the AHL.

Bowman admitted:

“He didn’t have his best training camp, I think that was apparent in talking to him… one of the things you have to do as a team is evaluate who deserves to be here to start the season. We made the determination that his game wasn’t where we wanted it to be.”

This doesn’t mean the team has given up on Brown, but they were prepared to lose him to waivers, if another team felt he might have fit what they were looking for. The Oilers lost Raphael Lavoie to the Vegas Golden Knights, and that’s all part of the business of hockey.

“Obviously, we hope that he can get it together. I thought he was beat out by some other players, that happens,” Bowman told Stauffer. “That doesn’t mean he’s not valuable, it just means we want to get him going and get him back up to where we need him to be to help our team.”

The Oilers Have No Time for Passengers, Including Josh Brown

Edmonton is an attractive place these days. They are considered heavy favorites by many insiders and analysts to win the Stanley Cup this season, which is one of the reasons players have made it known to their agents they want to join the Oilers. But, with that comes the fact that floaters might see Edmonton as an easy place to win.

The Oilers have no time for players who won’t pull their weight. “We are here to reward the players who bring the most to the lineup, that have earned it.,” said Bowman. If that isn’t Brown and he doesn’t bring what he was signed to, he won’t see a game with the big club all season.

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