Oilers trust issue with Evander Kane may cause move at trade deadline
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly gauging the trade market on Evander Kane, and a potential reason why is because they don't trust him to sit out until the end of the season.
Oilers President Jeff Jackson recently revealed in a new interview the plan was always for Kane to miss the entire season, giving the Oilers his $5.125M salary to add at the deadline. However, Kane wants to come back earlier.
Oilers may have to trade Kane if he demands to play in final weeks of the season
According to Edmonton Journal analyst Bruce McCurdy, the Oilers would only really have to trade Kane if they don't trust that he will quietly sit out until the playoffs.
In theory, they don't have to trade him to make up his cap space, they just have to have everyone convince one another that he's not ready until April 20th or later, and then they've got that cap space down the stretch in long term injured reserve
So why trade him? If they're not really sure that he's not going to pipe up on April 5th, saying hey, I'm Ready to go, why am I not playing here? He's such a wild card, there's no telling He's a very impulsive guy.
I'm not sure that they really trust that they're going to get from here to there without something going sideways.
- Bruce McCurdy
So why trade him? If they're not really sure that he's not going to pipe up on April 5th, saying hey, I'm Ready to go, why am I not playing here? He's such a wild card, there's no telling He's a very impulsive guy.
I'm not sure that they really trust that they're going to get from here to there without something going sideways.
- Bruce McCurdy
While Jeff Jackson has committed to record saying they have medical opinions saying Kane should not play this season, Kane himself is trying to fight against that. According to reports, Kane wants to return to play this season.
The Oilers clearly always planned for Kane to miss the whole season, and use his money in trades. If Kane can't be trusted not to throw a wrench in that plan, the Oilers will have to move him.
Oilers will only have to trade Kane if he returns to play this season
According to recent reports, Kane is currently skating at 60% pace and wishes to get some runway before the playoffs this season.
That may be possible with an AHL conditioning stint, but if he forces his way into the lineup before playoffs, the Oilers may need to move out his $5.125M salary.
They do have alternatives, including potentially trading forward Viktor Arvidsson. However, Kane is 33 years old and isn't guaranteed to be an effective player coming off such a long injury. He could be a monster for any playoff team if he's healthy and up to speed, but those are big ifs.
Evander Kane is a great playoff performer, bringing the physicality and secondary scoring that successful teams need. It would hurt for the Oilers to lose him now, but if it clears salary cap space for a goalie or defenceman, it may be a better use of salary cap.
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