Edmonton Oilers’ main training camp finally got underway on Wednesday in the usual low-key manner: medicals and fitness training, with a smattering of media avails.
The most significant of those involved Oilers GM Stan Bowman, who confirmed that power forward Evander Kane will be undergoing surgery in the next short while. “He’s not going to be available for training camp and the beginning of the season… He’s going to be out for a while. I don’t want to speculate on [how long]. I think out doctors will be able to give you a better handle on that,” said Bowman, who didn’t offer specifics as to the nature of the surgery. The intention is for him to start the season as a rostered player without need for the minefield that is Long Term Injured Reserve. At least, not yet.
“We don’t need to use LTI right now; we have the salary cap room, he’ll be on the regular roster. As we get into the season, if we run into a number of shorter term injuries and we need to bring bodies up, then we have the flexibility to put him on LTI. Part of the reason we made the moves we did over the summer was so that we would not be required to start the season in LTI and that hasn’t changed… We are under the cap right now and we want to remain that way. Our goal is to accrue cap space so we have the flexibility in season to make an addition.”
When pressed about why Kane hadn’t had surgery all summer, Bowman replied: “I think the goal there was to determine the best path forward with his injury. He can probably speak to this better than me, there’s oftentimes a couple of different different ways [injured] players can proceed. You get a diagnosis, and sometimes it can be rehabbed, sometimes it’s definite surgery, sometimes surgery is an option but you might want to rehab it before… The way we always handle it with our players is at the end of the day it’s their body, it’s their decision to make. They can listen to the recommendations of doctors, but they have to get to the point in their mind that this is definitely want I want to do. It was recently where we got to that point with Evander, and he can probably explain his through process on that.”
Which is consistent with Bowman’s take on this same issue a month ago. In my view, the correct take, at least as an official position. What may go on behind the scenes is anyone’s guess.
In a later avail, Kane himself addressed the litany of core issues that will be dealt with by the impending surgery:
By my count that makes SIX different issues that will be dealt with in the impending surgery/ies. Don’t expect him back anytime soon, is the only logical conclusion.
In the absence of the 326-goal scorer, the Oilers have brought in another veteran left winger with 228 goals on his résumé in Mike Hoffman, who will attend camp on a Professional Tryout. The 34-year-old sniper is something of a one-dimensional player, certainly doesn’t bring the snarl that is a major part of Kane’s game, but this just in: players who check all of Kane’s boxes are not readily available in the scrap heap of unsigned players.
If there is a spot on the roster to be won by Hoffman, surely it is Kane’s position as a scoring winger in the middle six. Said Bowman: “He’s a veteran player with a great career so far. We think he’ll be a nice addition to the camp. He’s been a pretty consistent offensive player throughout his career. We’re going to take a look at him and see how he fits in with our mix.”
Hoffman posted six straight 20-goal seasons from 2014-20, but hasn’t reached that mark in the four seasons since, as his goals and points totals have slowly but steadily declined. He’s bounced around among five different NHL teams, posting a season of at least -20 on four of them which doesn’t speak highly of his two-way acumen.
His presence might complicate the lives of hopefuls like Vasily Podkolzin and Raphael Lavoie, though the fact remains that the Oilers are slated to play 8 preseason games in 13 days so an extra body or two might come in handy. Especially, one that classifies as an NHL veteran. (Think: Winnipeg road trip.)
Bowman also confirmed previous reports that Darnell Nurse will not be participating in full-contact drills or in early preseason games. “If anything, we want to be cautious. He’s an important player for us, he plays a lot of minutes. Training camp’s important, but clearly being ready for the season is the most important thing.”
The GM was asked for his comments on other newcomers to the mix.
On Vasily Podkolzin: “Sometimes a fresh start is great for players like that. He came in with high expectations. We’re looking at it as an optimistic situation. There are a lot of things I like about his game. He brings the element of physicality. He can score, he’s got a great shot. But the thing I like the most when we studied him was his willingness to be an aggressive player. He’s a big body, he can skate, he’s certainly got skill, but he brings the power side of his game. We have a lot of skill on our team, and he’s got the skill side, but with his physicality I think he’s going to find a role with us.”
On Ty Emberson: “At the NHL level his experience is limited. The nice part about his background is he had that experience with Kris [Knoblauch] in Hartford so there’s a familiarity with our head coach. I’m familiar with him going back to his draft year, he was a player we [Chicago] had followed closely at the US program and at Wisconsin. He’s a player I feel I’m comfortable watching knowing what kind of things he brings to the table.”
On PTO Travis Dermott: “He’s a vesatile player. He does have the ability to play both sides. He’s another guy we’re going to be focussing on at camp to see how he stacks up against the other players. He’s been pro for a while so he’s got quite a bit of experience under his belt.”
On possible additional signings: “Part of our job in the next month is to evaluate the options we have, both internal and external. We want to give the players that are here and signed a chance to show what they can do, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t looking around to see if there were other p[layers who could make our team better.”
Training camp roster set
With the addition of Hoffman, the training camp roster consists of 57 players, including 33 forwards, 17 defencemen, and 7 goaltenders. Kane is listed among them though obviously he won’t participate.
Other than Hoffman, there are no surprises in the way of camp invites. None of the 9 unaffiliated players who participated in rookie camp made the grade. There are a couple of unfamiliar names on the list like d-men Connor Corcoran and Alex Kannok-Leipert who are signed to minor league deals and are certain to be included in the first round of cuts. For now there is no labelled group of Bakersfield Condors/Fort Wayne Komets; that will come in due course. There may be some clues in how the players are grouped when on-ice sessions begin on Thursday.
Recently at the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: Here’s why Oilers will be even better this season
McCURDY: Penticton Game 3: youthful Oil endure yet a third low-scoring loss
McCURDY: On the Oilers and those pesky bridge contracts
LEAVINS: Penticton Game 2: Savoie, O’Reilly raise their games; 9 Things
McCURDY: Penticton Game 1: Nathan Day keeps it close
McCURDY: Prospect countdown wrap, with links
Follow me on X-Twitter @BruceMcCurdy