Update on Evander Kane raises concerns in Edmonton: Elliotte Friedman hints at a very long absence

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Julien Trekker
September 22, 2024 (12:05)

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Some bad news hit the Edmonton Oilers regarding Evander Kane, as insider Elliotte Friedman hinted at a very long absence for the forward.

Following a short summer in Edmonton, the Oilers' training camp started without a key player.

General manager Stan Bowman revealed that Evander Kane would miss the camp and a large part of the season, as he underwent surgery last Thursday.

The player posted the following story on Instagram after his surgery:

"Successful surgery, long road ahead, but very grateful for my amazing surgeons and nurses."

In a new development, we learned that it will indeed be a "long road ahead."

It's still early to try and predict exactly when Kane will be back at 100%, but Elliotte Friedman made a statement, hinting at a long recovery period.

On X, the insider revealed that Kane isn't expected to be back before next January or February:

Kane's surgery will take a lot of time to heal. Surgeons had a lot of work to do on him: they had to repair his abductors, two abdominal tears, and two hernias.

If he were to come back in February, the Oilers could face an interesting option that could give them an edge going into the playoffs. If they let Kane take his time to get back into shape and stretch his absence until the start of the playoffs, they could make other acquisitions at the trade deadline while his salary isn't on the cap.

Many organizations have used that strategy. As we saw with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights, it can work.

But the Oilers could use a guy like Kane as soon as possible. Even if they're a great team, he brings a lot of intensity to the team, as we saw in the past playoffs. Despite dealine with multiple injuries, the forward showed his grit by playing a physical game throughout Edmonton's run. He may have score only eight points in 20 games, but he had a big impact with his 64 hits

With the additions made this summer (Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, notably), the current Oilers team could very well get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year.