According to team insider Bob Stover, Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane is recovering from an undisclosed surgery, which may prevent him from participating in the opening stage of the new season. In April, Kane revealed that he played with injuries for most of last season. Although the Oilers reached the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final, the injury caused him to miss 5 of 25 playoff games. It is not clear whether his recovery is related to the previous injury.
If Kane’s recovery period affects the first few games of the 2024-25 season, the Oilers may put him on the long-term injury list and temporarily remove his $5.125 million salary from the salary cap, which provides new general manager Stan Bowman with much-needed financial flexibility. According to PuckPedia, the Oilers’ total salary is about $350,000 over the $88 million cap, and the team also needs to make room to re-sign restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
Kane, 33, could be a trade target for the Oilers to clear cap space after a disappointing 2023-24 season. However, his contract contains a complete no-transfer clause until July 1, 2025, which gives him the right to reject any trade. In addition, there are two years left on his contract, which also increases the difficulty for other teams to take over.
Although Kane’s performance has been below expectations, he is still an important player for the Oilers. He scored 44 points, 24 goals and led the team with 250 hits in 77 games last season. Although his average playing time of 16:47 per game is the lowest level since his rookie season, he is still an indispensable member of the team.
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