This just in, the Edmonton Oilers announcing that: “Evander Kane underwent successful abdominal surgery last Friday in New York. Recovery from the procedure is expected to take a minimum of five to six months. His rehabilitation will take place in Edmonton under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.”
Sportsnet columnist Mark Spector noted, “My money says the first game he plays this season is a playoff game.”
My take
1. The strange case of Kane may be entering its most interesting phase, the possibility that Kane will be out the entire regular season on Long Term Injured Reserve, but might well be ready for the playoffs.
2. Six months from now takes us until near the end of March, just a few weeks from the end of the NHL’s regular season. Hmm. That makes for interesting timing. If Kane is out the entire season, the Oilers can use his cap space to acquire players at the trade deadline that will help them in the playoffs, just as Stanley Cup winning teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Nikita Kucherov, and the Vegas Golden Knights, with Mark Stone, have done in recent years.
3. Kane listed many injuries that needed fixing in surgery: two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles. I’m no doctor so this is just speculation, but it would make sense that so many injuries will increase the time needed for Kane to recuperate, no?
4. If the Oilers had known a month ago that Kane would be out until late March would the team have taken a different line with Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, maybe matching their lavish contract offers from St. Louis? But it could be the Oilers had no certainly at that time that Kane’s surgery and recovery would drag out so long (and still can’t be certain for that matter). Or it could be that Broberg and Holloway’s contract offers were simply too rich and out-of-line in terms of Edmonton’s salary cap situation to match.
5. However this plays out, the most important thing for the Oilers is to have a healthy Kane for the playoffs. That is essential. Kane is a unique player, one with the skill to make plays on a top line with the NHL’s best attackers, but one with the ferocity to intimidate opposing players. He’s the kind of player that is extremely valuable in winning a Stanley Cup. It’s good to see him get the surgery he needs, and also good the focus will be on him having the time to fully recover.