The Curious Case Of Evander Kane
A deep dive into the Edmonton Oilers player with a tumultuous past, and uncertain future.
In my relatively new career as a journalist and covering sports, I have chosen not to cover an athlete's off-ice (or field) personal life. Unless I have solid, verified, independently sourced info from multiple people I will not speculate on behavior perceived to be distasteful or unwelcomed by the public.
In the case of Evander Kane, he has his fair share of detractors who have followed him around his entire career. For good reasons or not, I cannot speak too intelligently. But there are some facts I do believe to be ignored by these detractors who are to my eye being irresponsibly flippant with what they claim on places like X.
I don't know Evander Kane, but I did work at the Fraserview Golf course in Vancouver B.C. one summer which he and his friends frequented. I met him that summer briefly in an exchange I doubt he remembers, but I can tell you that he struck me as a regular dude, down to earth, nice guy and my range rat colleagues felt the same way.
Whatever your experience with him is and whether you like him or not I cannot change, Oiler fan or otherwise, nor can I tell you how to feel personally. But what I can tell you is this.
Kane has a full no move clause that carries through until February 28th of 2025 at which point it becomes a modified no trade list consisting of 16 teams. What I can't say for certain is who will be among those teams, but I can infer some logic based on experience and researching the league landscape.
I doubt that San Jose would be on the list because San Jose has terminated a contract of his in the past, therefore it would be a safe assumption that they would not re-acquire him in the future making them a wasted pick to submit to his agent for the clause.
I do think at this stage of his career just like most hockey players he would like to win a Stanley Cup before he has to hang them up, and considering his health status which we will elaborate on further in the words to come, the closing of that window is fast approaching according to conventional wisdom. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to assume that the list will be populated by teams who are seemingly unlikely to make the playoffs. This circumstance by the way is incredibly rare and adds an interesting layer for media members and fans alike to cover as the deadline approaches which is expected to be Friday, March 7th, 2025. At that point, Kane can look at the standings and submit 16 teams (15 if we assume EDM is in the playoffs) with virtual certainty that he'll be bound for a team heading to the post-season. I expect a ton of coverage of this narrative to present itself as we get closer to that date.
If this is indeed the case, this makes the likelihood of a trade very, very difficult. We're talking about a player disliked by much of the public, a declining skillset due to injury (which in my opinion the jury is still out on), a $5,125,000 cap hit and at least one documented case of a teammate throwing his clothes in the shower for a dress code violation.
All of this considered would make this asset a difficult one to move. A contender that could use his intangibles while tolerating some of the (alleged) behavior cannot afford his cap hit and an up and coming team who can is unlikely to tolerate these (alleged) behaviors around their young players whom they are developing and maturing into professionals.
I completely understand the landscape of sports and fandom will always generate certain discussions such as trading players in situations like this, but I have grown rather fatigued of listening to them and I am quite certain the players have too.
This cannon fodder of criticism and trade speculation is also true of three other players this summer one of them a fellow Oiler. Darnell Nurse, Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers. All for different reasons and circumstances.
One thing all of these people have in common is that they have clauses in their contracts guaranteeing they cannot be traded unless they approve of it, making the fervor online a complete waste of time and energy. The media which I am a part of has to take some responsibility for this environment. The hot take machine has every right to continue to spit out hot takes, but I also reserve the right to tell you to discuss Sidney Crosby going to the Boston Bruins to compete for another cup is a complete waste of your breath.
What does that mean for Evander Kane and this upcoming campaign?
The reality is that Kane is an Oiler and is expected to return by September 22nd of this season. The goal (as far as we know) from both parties meaning him and his agent (Dan Milstein) and the Oilers front office is to have him in the lineup opening night against the Winnipeg Jets. Ryan Rishaug of TSN reported during the free agent window opening that he had confirmed management had not asked him to waive his NMC. Moreover, assuming he is healthy and ready to go I do believe having him in the top nine is actually the optimal look for the Oilers.
We know that in his first season, he had much more of a tendency to shoot the puck and he is damn good at it. Our sense is that injuries have hindered his ability and confidence which if true has translated into less shots and therefore less offence. Yet despite that, in 77 games played he still managed 24 goals meaning he's tough enough to battle some insane injuries and still produce the 4th most goals on the best offensive team in the NHL while not playing on the top powerplay unit.
This is not to guarantee that he either continue this pace or he can recreate the magic from his first season with the team, but the Oilers best bet right now is to get him healthy and bet on it happening to both optimize their top nine forward group while boosting his trade value if that's the route they so choose to eventually take.
Kane also brings an element to the lineup that championship teams need. Whether we like it or not the sport is still violent and he has shown his entire career that if opponents want to drag the game into the alley he's more than willing to accept that challenge. He sticks up for his teammates and hockey players want that in their room. It sounds caveman-esque to some and I understand, but it's just the way it is.
On a more tactical level, he's also an effective F1 on the forecheck because of his willingness to play the body to separate players from pucks in order to establish the forecheck. This is something many players in Edmonton's lineup don't do or at least not to his level (Holloway will as he becomes a more consistent player in the top 6) which would be greatly missed if he is lost to trade or ends up on LTIR. Speaking of that...
If rest and rehab don't cure his hip ailment, it could be that he requires surgery at which point he theoretically lands on LTIR obfuscating Jeff Jackson and whoever becomes the permanent GM of his cap hit, giving them some flexibility to either replace his roster spot internally or on the open market. This to me is the second most realistic outcome in this situation.
Oilers feature heavily among best NHL free agency contracts. Oilers feature heavily among best NHL free agency contracts. dark. Next
They could also opt to use that hypothetical cap space to make an addition or upgrade on the blueline which remains in my eyes the biggest need. If we project Holloway and Broberg's deals to come in at a combined AAV of 2.5 million to be safe, that would be an estimated savings of $2,270,833 that could be spent elsewhere. And this again is merely an estimate as the contract situation for the two young RFA's remains unknown.
The player on the ice is a warrior, who has endured a myriad of significant injuries and punishment and can still offer you value as a power forward. It also appears to me that Kane isn't likely to be out of the Oilers lineup unless it is on LTIR, and so any discussion to the contrary is fruitless unless news comes that he's been asked to waive the no move clause. Which he has every right no to do.
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