Not so fast on Evander Kane being ready for the new season

It turns out that what's old is new again, at least when it comes to the ongoing saga of Evander Kane's injury situation. Apparently, it's feasible he will require surgery after all, at least according to Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now.

Stauffer took to social media on Monday, to advise there's a very good chance Kane won't be ready for the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Further, that he may require surgery and is likely to begin the season on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR).

This is in stark contrast to what was previously reported by the 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast on Saturday. Similarly taking to social media, they had claimed Kane would be ready for training camp and would take part in the Captain Skates in early September, with a spell on LTIR not being part of the plan.

Now we're not going to entirely dismiss the 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast. These are still the same folks who reported the Oilers' hiring of Stan Bowman a day before the team officially announced it.

With all due respect, Stauffer is the man

At the same time however, you do have to put more stock in what Stauffer is reporting. He's been around longer, hence has a better reputation; and let's not forget his strong connections by virtue of working as a radio colour commentator for the Oilers.

The point being, that in all likelihood the previous speculation about Kane having a spell on LTIR to begin the coming season, was closer to the mark than realised at the time. As much as there's been confusion over whether he's still dealing with a sports hernia or a more recent hip issue, having surgery is apparently no longer the determining factor for his fate come the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

Again assuming what Stauffer is reporting is indeed correct, it will be interesting to see what difference having surgery or not has on Kane's length of absence. In other words, how long he spends on LTIR and how many games he ends up missing before returning to action?

In any event, this apparent turn of events should now help the Oilers in respect of their salary cap position. With a cap space of $-354,167 at the time of writing and deals still to agree with Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, Kane's cap hit of $5.125 million will now provide some temporary relief.

Of course, until something official is announced, we're not going to assume anything - such has been the unpredictability surrounding Kane throughout his NHL career. And as much as he is not the cause of any of this recent unnecessary drama, we're sure he wouldn't have it any other way.

Recent Posts