Game Day 60: Oilers vs Carolina
This in from Edmonton Oilers hockey boss Jeff Jackson, some clarity on Evander Kane’s situation, news that it was always expected he’d miss the regular season, but that he might well be ready for the playoffs.
Talking with Daren Millard and John Shannon of The 100% Hockey Podcast, Jackson said, “Yeah, Evander’s in his rehab. It’s going along. The prognosis from the time of the surgery was the end of the season, timing-wise, sort of six months. And then he had the issue with his knee that was unrelated to any hockey injury. And he had that surgery. So, that sort of slowed him down a bit. So I think that probably we’re still in the same time frame where we’re looking at, you know, you could probably end up coming back to play sometime in the playoffs. But you never know with players. Some guys like him, Evander’s a very athletic person. So, you know, it may be quicker than that. So, but we’re just taking it week-by-week. And he’s in his injury rehab protocol and following it as closely as he can. And, you know, hopefully we’ll get him back here at some point.”
On John Klingberg, Jackson said, “I think that what we need from our whole D group — which we didn’t have in the first few games that he played in on the trip, he didn’t play last night — is just the ability so that he can settle in and have a steady partner that they can start to read off of and learn their tendencies. Because he’s a very cerebral player, and having that stability will help him. So, I mean, he’s still finding his game. And the good news is, he was a player that we were able to get for no assets. And we think he’s going to be a contributor to our team. And we’re just trying to be patient with his return to full play.”
As for the trade deadline, Jackson said the Oilers are looking for some depth in the forward group and that depth on defence is also welcome as injury can hit hard in the playoffs. “On the forward group, whether it’s a little bit of size and a right shot guy on the bottom six, something like that, give us other options and maybe a little bit of size we may not have.”
As for tonight’s game, Darnell Nurse is out day-to-day, while Calvin Pickard gets the start in net. Otherwise the line-up is the same, reports Tony Brar of Oilers TV.
My take
1. There’s always a lot of drama around Evander Kane and Jackson does a good job here taking the heat out of that particular hot air balloon. Excellent interview between Shannon and Millard.
Jackson comes off as he always does, as sharp and sensible. I would have liked to have seen him asked about Edmonton’s goalie situation, as well as how they team let Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway slip from its fingers, but was glad to hear Jackson address the Klingberg and Kane situations, providing some clarity on Kane, making it sound like business-as-usual.
I appreciate Jackson’s calm and measured approach, which is an asset in a hockey market like Edmonton with such an intense, volatile and sometimes hyperventilating fanbase.
2. Part of the fanbase sees Kane as a distraction, who would best be traded, largely for his off-ice actions, some real, some imagined and some political.
As far as I know, Kane has been a solid Edmontonian. When he’s been healthy, he’s been a good-to-excellent player for the Oilers, especially when it comes to physical play. He’s one of the five most intimidating players in the NHL, up there with beasts like Brady Tkachuk, Tom Wilson and Nikita Zadorov.
That kind of player can be critical to a team winning the Stanley Cup. If he come back healthy, Kane could be that player for the Oilers in these playoffs.
I’d hate to see him traded, but you never know.
3. Jackson mentions the need for size on the wing. Kane brings size and toughness.
4. I might be in a minority right now, but I like Klingberg’s play. I think Klingberg and Nurse can be a strong pairing for the Oilers in the playoffs, which is why my own assessment is that the Oilers should focus at the deadline on adding a goalie and a forward.
5. Edmonton’s forwards are down as a group when it comes to their two-way play. A number of players have seen their two-way play drop off significantly from last regular season, including Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman (who are still strong two-way players), Corey Perry, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Henrique, Connor Brown, and especially Mattias Janmark, whose defensive game has come unhinged in the past couple months.
Janmark has got to bear down or he won’t be playing in the playoffs.
6. Viktor Arvidsson has been a strong two-way player, but he hasn’t had much puck luck on the attack. Vasily Podkolzin has also been strong, one of positive stories on the team.
But the most positive story in Edmonton, by far, is Leon Draisaitl, who has raised his level of two-way play from great to outstanding this year compared to 2023-24 and 2022-23.
We are witnessing a season for the ages from Draisiaitl, a masterful performance.
At the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: Will Kane be traded? Should he be?
McCURDY: Knoblauch goes to the whip
Staples on politics
Alberta budget brings ray of hope in a Canada gripped by fear
