Oilers on the verge of welcoming back Evander Kane
The Edmonton Oilers are already playing without the most important member of their team, as team captain and superstar forward Connor McDavid has been absent for the last several games after suffering a lower-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets late last month.
But the good news is that not only has McDavid resumed skating, but the Oilers are also on the verge of getting back another key piece of their lineup. Forward Evander Kane, who has missed the entire start of the 2024-25 season after undergoing offseason surgery,
According to beat writer Daniel Nugent-Bowman, the Oilers have returned forward Drake Caggiula to the American Hockey League affiliate Bakersfield Condors, opening the door for the team to put Kane back onto the active roster.
Kane played last season with a sports hernia and went under the knife to repair two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias and two torn lower abdominal muscles as he explained via NHL.com.
"I felt something was wrong in late October, I noticed something, and it just kind of slowly got worse over time," he said. "Probably in December or January, it was getting much worse. But at the same time, the thing with this injury is that some days you feel better than others. Obviously in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs, by the time we got around to that, it wasn't any better, it was getting severely worse."
"At the same time, you're trying to do anything you can because you want to give yourself and your teammates the best opportunity to win. That's what I was trying to do."
Kane's eventual return to the Oilers' lineup will be a much-needed boost, as the team has been inconsistent, holding a 6-6-1 record through 13 games in the 2024-25 season.
Oilers F Evander Kane is entering his 16th NHL season
A native of Vancouver, Kane was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. He began his career with the Thrashers, who eventually moved to Manitoba to become the second edition of the Winnipeg Jets.
He was later dealt to the Buffalo Sabres in a blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Tyler Myers to the Jets. Eventually, he was on the move again, getting sent to the San Jose Sharks.
In January of 2022, he was placed on waivers by the Sharks due to a violation of AHL COVID-19 protocols. He found his way to Alberta, joining the Oilers and eventually parlaying his success with the club into a four-year, $20.5 million contract extension.
In 930 career NHL games, Kane has scored 326 goals with 291 assists, while adding 26 goals and 17 assists in 76 postseason games.
