The Edmonton Oilers carefully weighed every possible scenario when it came to how they’d respond to the pair of offer sheets issued to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg by the St. Louis Blues.
And they’re taking a similarly thorough approach when it comes to how Evander Kane’s health might impact their outlook.
General manager Stan Bowman made it clear during a media availability Tuesday that when it comes to Kane’s health, the plan “is going to be between Evander and the doctors.”
“I don’t have any say-so in that, nor should I,” Bowman said. “The most important thing for me is to support Evander in making sure that he gets healthy.”
While the decisions about Kane’s condition aren’t Bowman’s to make, he and Oilers brass need to be ready for multiple scenarios from a salary-cap standpoint.
“When there’s any injury, there’s a couple options that come into play: You get treatment for it, you do rehab, and over time that injury heals and the player is able to return to play. Sometimes, you have injuries where surgery is required right away, where it’s obvious that’s the only solution, and then you have another type of injury where it’s not as black and white — there’s a few different ways that a player can move forward with it, and that’s his decision, and we’re going to be supportive of Evander in that,” explained Bowman. “So, I think that third scenario is where things are right now.”
Kane, 33, played through a sports hernia for much of the 2023-24 season, an injury that eventually sidelined him in the Stanley Cup Final, missing five of seven games. Although he hasn’t yet undergone surgery to repair it, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes Kane will ultimately undergo a procedure — a decision that would mean a months-long absence from the rink.
“We don’t have that information,” Bowman said. “I don’t weight in on that, and that’s something that he’s going to sort through with the doctors.”
According to PuckPedia, Edmonton has just under $1 million in cap space as the 2024-25 season nears. That includes Kane’s $5.125-million AAV. Seeing how he fits into the current salary-cap picture, regardless of whether he’ll be moved to long-term injured reserve shortly after puck drop, is valuable for Oilers brass as they evaluate their cap situation for the season ahead.
“Either he’s going to be off LTI and just part of your normal team capture or, if he is going to be out for longer than 24 days and 10 games, he can go on long-term injury but you need, as a team, to be able to activate him when he returns from that injury,” said Bowman. “So, that’s something that came into a lot of our discussions, was, ‘You may be able to start the season in long-term injury if that’s the case and he’s going to be out at least a month, but we have to have a gameplan for when he’s healthy and ready to play.’”
Bowman also pointed out the importance of accruing cap space.
“The way we’re situated right now, we’re going to be able to start the season with Evander Kane not being on any type of injury — he’ll just be like everyone else, and if he’s able to play right away, that’s great,” he said. “If he’s not, then we’re not going to have a problem making room for him when he’s healthy.”