Evander Kane Liable To Go through A medical procedure, Begin Season On LTIR

The Edmonton Oilers will likely begin the 2024-25 season without forward Evander Kane, who is recovering from an undisclosed medical procedure.

According to the team’s Bob Stauffer, Kane’s recovery will likely sideline him for at least the first 10 games and 24 days of the season, making him eligible for long-term injured reserve (LTIR). This move would provide the Oilers with temporary relief from his $5.125MM cap hit, giving new general manager Stan Bowman some much-needed financial flexibility.

Kane played through a significant portion of last season with a sports hernia, which he revealed to reporters in April. The injury bothered him throughout the Oilers’ playoff run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, causing him to miss five of Edmonton’s 25 postseason games. It is unclear if the current news is related to the sports hernia.

The Oilers’ current roster projects to exceed the $88MM salary cap by over $350K, per PuckPedia. In addition to needing space for everyday transactions, the team still needs to come to agreements with restricted free agents (RFAs) Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Placing Kane on LTIR would provide the necessary cap relief to address these issues.

After a disappointing 2023-24 season, the 33-year-old Kane might have seemed like a plausible trade option for Edmonton to clear cap space.

However, a full no-movement clause through July 1, 2025, meant he could have blocked any trade, including a waiver situation, and the second year of term remaining on his contract makes him a harder sell to interested teams.

In fact, it’s been a disappointing couple of seasons for Kane after a strong initial appearance in Edmonton. His 44 points in 77 games last season were particularly underwhelming production for the power forward, and his 0.57 points per game were his worst since the 2015-16 season.

He didn’t fare much better in an injury-plagued 2022-23 campaign either, limited to 16 goals and 28 points in 41 games. His 0.68 points per game that year cratered from the previous year, when he posted 0.91 per game after signing with the Oilers mid-season following a contract termination by the Sharks.

Kane’s struggles have left the Oilers in a difficult position, as they need to balance their desire to compete for a Stanley Cup with the financial realities of their cap situation.

With Kane’s injury and subsequent LTIR placement, the team may be able to find some temporary relief, but they will still need to address their long-term cap management and find a way to get more production from their forward group.