Oilers Scratch Evander Kane After Embassaring Loss to Leafs

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Tom Banks
March 24, 2024 (5:05 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers went down in embarrassing fashion to the Leafs on Saturday night, and now it may have cost Evander Kane his role in the team.

It was an eventful and ultimately disappointing night for the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, as they went down to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 in a one-sided contest that make have been a major wakeup call for the team.

Now, the Edmonton Oilers have made a surprising call, as veteran forward Evander Kane has officially been a healthy scratch for their Sunday matchup against the Ottawa Senators.

Evander Kane will not play today (maintenance day according to Kris Knoblauch).
Calvin Pickard starts

However, there may be much more to this story, as Evander Kane was caught arguing with Edmonton's second best player in Leon Draisaitl on the bench throughout the frustrating loss.

Draisaitl and Kane. 👀

In Bob Stauffer's post on X, he makes sure to mention that it's a simple maintenance day for the veteran Kane as the playoffs are approaching, but there could be much more to the story. This comes on the back of reports that Evander Kane was unhappy with his ice time and role for the Edmonton Oilers, so that certainly can't be discounted as a factor here.

The 32-year old came to Edmonton with plenty of baggage behind him, as it appeared they were one of the only teams in the league interested in bringing him in following the drama and the scandals that followed him during his time in San Jose. Beyond those reports of him being a locker room nuisance this season, Kane has been relatively drama free during his time in Edmonton, but with the arrival of Corey Perry and other players that are getting much more ice time in the top-six over him, it may be catching up to him.

The Oilers will now play the Senators before a day off which will see them travel to Winnipeg to battle the red-hot Jets, so the lineup in that matchup will certainly give us plenty of answers on what's going on behind the scenes in Edmonton.

Ultimately though, it may end up being a simple day off for Kane, who has played in 67 games this season, and with the Oilers looking to lock up second place in the Pacific Division, resting veteran players is something they may look to do over the course of the next month with the playoffs approaching.