As with all teams, the Edmonton Oilers have endured their fair share of injuries already in 2024-25. More specifically, we're talking about the likes of Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson all missing varying degrees of time due to different ailments.
However, at the time of writing, you can make a case for the Oilers' injury issues -- or more to the point lack thereof -- being the envy of the majority of the NHL. That's because, despite now being more than 30 games into the 2024-25 campaign, they only really have one injury of any significance to contend with.
When taking a look at the Oilers' latest injury list, the only player on there is Evander Kane, who has yet to play this season. However, as much as he could undoubtedly help the team -- specifically with his physicality and ability to get under the skin of opponents -- even his absence could actually help further down the road this season.
This past week saw Bob Stauffer provide an update on Kane's injury situation. The Oilers Now host indicated there had been (another) delay in his rehab, with the winger now unlikely to return to action until March at the earliest.
Not as bad as it sounds for the Oilers
However, rather than focusing on the potential negative implications of this, we instead focused on the possible positives. As we wrote on Thursday, this updated situation is one which the Oilers can theoretically use to their advantage.
Kane is currently on long-term injured reserve, meaning the Oilers can -- as things stand -- use his $5.125 million salary to go towards bringing in reinforcements, on top of whatever cap space they have. (As per PuckPedia, this stands as $1,244,563 at the time of writing.) If the polarising winger does not end up returning until sometime during the playoffs, the front office does not have to worry about accounting for the additional $5.125 million of financial assistance against the cap.
In any event, the Oilers' current relative bill of health is a remarkable situation given that we are now in the third month of the 2024-25 campaign. Of course at the same time, we appreciate that this situation could turn on its head at any given moment.
Ill-timed and costly injuries last season
A prime example of this for the Oilers came during last season's playoff charge all the way to a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. In particular, Kane and Leon Draisaitl were both dealing with injuries throughout the postseason run.
In Kane's case, it was a situation where a whole season of dealing with his hernia issue finally caught up with him, and despite his toughness, he eventually had to be shut down following Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. As for Draisaitl, he was able to keep playing, but was clearly compromised and after an excellent start to the playoffs, was only able to contribute three points (all assists) during the seven games in the Final versus the Florida Panthers.
Given the quality of Kane and Draisaitl combined with the Stanley Cup Final going the full seven games, we are convinced that the Oilers would have won it all if both players were healthy. However, you can't really rely on the 'what if' scenario, given that all teams have to contend with injuries in a sport which is as physical as hockey.
Ultimately, the Oilers should do their best to take advantage of the current lack of injuries, and continue to build on the momentum which has seen them win 13 of 18 games since starting this season 6-7-1. It's a case of when not if the injury bug will hit again, so Kris Knoblauch's team should want to be as well-placed in the standings as possible when this happens.