Oilers have a big decision to make regarding Evander Kane

With a 7-7-1 record through 15 games, the Edmonton Oilers are the very definition of an average team. In fact you can argue they're fortunate to be so close to a playoff spot, when you consider how statistically poor this team has been so far in 2024-25.

Among other things, heading into Tuesday night's slate of games the Oilers rank 23rd in average goals scored per game, tied-26th in team goalie save percentage, and dead last in penalty kill efficiency. To be just one point out of eighth place in the Western Conference, is a minor miracle of sorts.

Now we appreciate this team has plenty of players not performing up to their usual standard on a consistent enough basis at this time. We also know, as the Oilers proved just last season, that they are more than capable of going on a major winning streak and charging up the standings.

At the same time, there is no guarantee of a repeat of last season's success and as things stand, the situation surrounding the Oilers remains unclear. Which brings us nicely to Evander Kane.

The most interesting man in the (hockey) world

Kane is undoubtedly one of the most polarising and interesting players in the NHL as a whole, never mind just in Edmonton. He seems to be able to encourage headlines almost at will, even when a situation is not actually of his own doing. (Which, to be fair to him, seems to be quite a lot of the time.)

Now first things first, there's the need to find out when the 2009 fourth overall draft pick will actually return from the surgery relating to the hernia issue which plagued him all of last season. One of the more recent updates came courtesy of the NHL Network's Kevin Weekes, with him indicating the winger was on track to be ready to play again in early 2025.

We appreciate there is still some ambiguity surrounding this timeline, but it does sound encouraging at least. However, there then comes the question of what the Oilers will do with Kane when he is available to play again?

Three possibilities with Kane

The reality is that Stan Bowman and company could take any number of directions with the 33-year-old. These include inserting him back into the lineup, keeping him on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) for the remainder of the regular season, and attempting to trade him.

These options will be impacted respectively, by how much the Oilers need Kane's help in the lineup, their financial situation, and how much they can get in return for him? In respect of what he is capable of offering the team, he's a rare combination of toughness, skill, and just plain being able to get under the skin of opposing players.

However, any need for the Vancouver native, will also be influenced by how well the Oilers are doing and where they are in the standings. Assuming they are in realistic contention for a playoff spot -- and they should be -- will his return improve their position, or ruin the team's chemistry and cohesion?

Always about the money

Moving onto the second possibility, it could be a case where the Oilers are almost forced to find a way to keep Kane on LTIR, even if he is healthy enough to return. As per PuckPedia, at the time of writing the time has cap space of just under $1.354 million USD, and with a projected deadline cap space of just above $5,061 million.

Now, take into account Kane's $5.125 million cap hit for this season, and suddenly it's a different ballgame, with his salary putting the Oilers in an extremely tight situation if they do want him back and playing. However, adding this to the previous situation of it depending how well the team is doing at the time, it's entirely possible they might try to keep him on LTIR. (Which would likely include having to persuade him to get on board with this approach.)

Finally, we come to the potential to trade the former Winnipeg Jet. However, aside from the aforementioned comment about how much the Oilers could get in any return package, he would have to be on board with the approach as well.

As things stand, Kane has a no-movement clause in his contact. However, this then changes to a limited no-trade clause on Mar. 1, six days before this season's NHL trade deadline.

Now aside from the 2007 Memorial Cup champion still having some control over where he's traded to, you can make an argument that this would be too late in the season for the Oilers to get something that they need. However, we'd like to think the team will still be in playoff contention with 20 regular season games remaining after the trade deadline.

In any event, there's plenty for Bowman and the Oilers to consider when it comes to determining what they do with Kane, with the reality that a lot of it is actually out of their control. Again, let's get him healthy first of all, but this is going to be an extremely interesting situation to keep an eye on in the New Year.

Recent Posts