Oilers Reporter Predicts A Possible Evander Kane Trade This Season

He states that Kane has many elements that the Oilers are lacking now as he continues to recover from his abdominal surgery he had at the beginning of the season. His pedigree of physicality, the ability to score and to check other players are all elements that teams are looking for. He mentions that there is a catch to his no movement clause as it will only last till March 1st and then he's moved to a modified no trade.

Kane has not looked the same since suffering his gruesome wrist injury after his wrist was severed by a skate a couple of years ago. After storming onto the scene of the Oilers and being a force during the second half of that year and playing well in the playoffs, he has looked like a shadow of himself and has not played up to the aggressive and forceful style that he and many have become accustomed to.

He holds one more year in his contract at $5.13 million per season and moving him with certainly open some cap space which would help the Oilers immediate need of defense.

I agree with Jason that the Oilers will likely wait as long as they can till that March 1st deadline and see where the team is in terms of the standings and whether they would like to realign the team some by selling off some assets including Kane or being in a buying mode again as they would be in the playoffs and ready to challenge for another Stanley Cup run.

With the possible return in February from his surgery, the others will need to wait and see how he recovers and how he plays once he returns as he is currently on long term injury reserve, but it appears the team is preparing for his likely return in 2025 and may look at other options to move before Kane.