The Edmonton Oilers got off to a red-hot start to their summer, signing Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson in free agency, bringing back a number of impactful depth players, and adding a few others, while restocking the prospect cupboards.

It was some fine work, but what interim general manager Jeff Jackson did was unwound by the hiring of Stan Bowman as the full-time general manager, a survey conducted by The Athletic’s Dom Luczyszyn revealed, ranking the Oilers 25th in front-office confidence.

“After a great summer of moves, the hiring of Stan Bowman has undone all my faith in the Oilers front office,” one respondent wrote. “Some issues are bigger than hockey, and it’s clear to me that this team no longer shares my values. I’m done with watching and cheering for the Oilers.”

As a whole, the Oilers fanbase saw their confidence drop a staggering 72 percent from last year, while the public actually saw faith increase, gaining 46 percent. The fan base ranking landed the Oilers 30th, while the public had them 14th. It tracks with the fanbase’s reaction to the hiring of Bowman.

“It all just seemed like a misstep for a team that was already well-positioned to win it all next season,” Luczyszyn wrote. “Why anger an entire fan base with that kind of hire?

Here’s how the Oilers ranked in recent years:

• 2023: 20th
• 2022: 23rd
• 2021: 28th
• 2020: 22nd
• 2019: 28th
• 2018: 29th

More change in Columbus sees Recchi out

The winds of change continue to blow around the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The latest sees assistant coach Mark Recchi out as an assistant coach after just one season behind their bench. He joined the team as they were managing the Mike Babcock saga, signing a two-year contract with the team. There’s been no word as to what led to his departure.

Here’s more on Recchi and the Blue Jackets, from Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl:

Recchi was on the staff under Pascal Vincent last season, which was another disaster for the Blue Jackets. The team went 27-43-12, finishing at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division for the second straight season. The lackluster campaign led to Vincent’s dismissal after just one year, with the team promptly hiring Evason just a few weeks ago.

The Blue Jackets were the third different team that Recchi had coached for following an illustrious playing career. He had been an assistant with one of his former teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins, from 2017 to 2020. He followed that up by joining the New Jersey Devils, working as an assistant for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.

Since the 2007-08 season, Recchi has had an ownership share in another one of his former teams, the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League.