Evander Kane Scheduled For Sports Hernia Surgery
Sep. 18: Kane will indeed undergo sports hernia surgery, general manager Stan Bowman told reporters today (via the Oilers’ Tony Brar).
Sep. 13: Mark Spector of Sportsnet is reporting that Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane will have sports hernia surgery in the next 10 days or so. Kane has been dealing with the issue since last season and played through the pain as much as he could but eventually missed significant time in the Stanley Cup Final when he dressed in just two of the Oilers’ final seven games.
Kane played reasonably well last season, given that he played through pain for most of it. However, his 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 games represented his lowest point-per-game pace in seven years. The 31-year-old added four goals and four assists in 20 playoff games, which was also a drop from his normal production.
While Kane’s offensive numbers were below his career norms, he did play a career-low 16:47 per game during the regular season which marked his lowest total since he averaged 14:00 per game during his rookie season in 2009-10 while he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers.
Kane’s prognosis won’t be fully known until surgery has been completed. When his recovery period is clear the Oilers should be able to figure out a plan for their salary cap situation going forward. PuckPedia estimates that Edmonton has $946K in cap space for the 2024-25 season (including Kane’s $5.125MM cap hit), however, if Kane is out longer than 24 days and 10 games then Edmonton can place him on LTIR. If that is the approach they take, the Oilers would need to keep his space available for when he is ready to suit up once again which would presumably be at some point during the regular season.
Oilers Notes: McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Nurse
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl doesn’t think he quite maxed out his value when signing his recent eight-year, $114MM mega-extension with the Oilers, he told Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid spoke about their recent and pending record-breaking contract extensions at this week’s NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I necessarily pushed my contract all the way to the limit,” Draisaitl said. “I’d like to state that. But I am very happy with it. I’m content with it. I think, compared to other sports, we probably don’t get paid what we deserve or don’t get paid what they get paid, right? But that’s the sport we’re in.”
McDavid was far more coy in his responses to questions about his next contract – he’s eligible to sign an extension starting July 1, 2025 – stating he’ll do what he feels is best for his family and his chances of winning a Stanley Cup.
But Draisaitl hopes his league-record $14MM AAV is a significant step in the right direction for high-end NHL talent. “I think each one of us, if we can bump it up and get more money into hockey and get the players some higher salaries, I think every player would probably say the same and they’d all be for it,” he told Russo.
There’s more from the Oilers:
- Evander Kane is projected to be unavailable at the beginning of training camp, according to Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk. It’s not a surprise – the team’s Bob Stauffer said last month that Kane was likely to have an undisclosed surgery and start the season on long-term injured reserve, likely related to the sports hernia he played through for a good chunk of last year. But nothing indicates he’s undergone the procedure yet, and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on a radio spot last week that they were hoping to have clarity on his return timeline by the end of next weekend.
- Defenseman Darnell Nurse is also likely out for the beginning of camp, per Gazzola. Gazzola says that the 29-year-old is still nursing a lingering injury he sustained during last season’s playoffs but isn’t likely to miss any regular season action. He’s been on the ice this month for informal skates but doesn’t appear ready for full contact. The Oilers will be looking for a big rebound campaign from the 2013 seventh overall pick, entering the third season of an eight-year, $74MM deal.
Snapshots: Kane, Ducks, Seider, Malone
For the past several months, there has been plenty of speculation about the availability of Oilers winger Evander Kane (or lack thereof). Even following a report last month that he would be undergoing surgery, there is still some uncertainty about how long he might be out for. It appears that we should soon have some clarity on that front as GM Stan Bowman indicated on a recent Oilers Now segment (audio link) that they’re hoping to have an update on Kane in the next seven to ten days. Kane played through a sports hernia injury for much of last season and the playoffs but still managed to put up 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season appearances. Edmonton’s roster movement this summer has positioned themselves to operate without necessarily needing LTIR so even if Kane will be out long-term, they may not choose to put him there when the season starts.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke suffered a fractured foot during offseason training that will keep him out for six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the team also revealed that goaltender Tomas Suchanek had successful surgery to repair a ruptured ACL and will miss six to eight months. Sennecke was a late-riser heading into the draft with his selection coming as a surprise to many. The injury will derail any outside chance he had at making the team but he should be good to go by the time the World Juniors come around. Suchanek, meanwhile, posted a 2.92 GAA and a .910 SV% in 29 games with AHL San Diego last season and was in position to likely be Anaheim’s third-string option this year. This injury likely led to today’s earlier signing of Oscar Dansk to a one-year deal.
- Earlier today, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta relayed that the Red Wings were making progress on a long-term contract for RFA winger Lucas Raymond. Later in the day, he added (Twitter link) that Detroit and RFA Moritz Seider are also working away at a long-term pact. The 23-year-old has been a key cog on the back end for the last three seasons, recording at least 42 points while logging over 22 minutes a night in each of them. Detroit has over $17MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, which should be enough to get both key youngsters signed to long-term agreements.
- Back in April, it was reported that veteran winger Brad Malone would be calling it a career. It was made official today with Malone announcing it on his Twitter page. Malone played in 217 career NHL games between Colorado, Carolina, and Edmonton, while also seeing time in a dozen AHL campaigns, spanning 552 contests. His days in hockey aren’t over, however, as OHL Oshawa announced that they’ve hired Malone as their Player Development Coach.
Oilers Pathway Toward Cap Compliancy
If their cap struggles weren’t already bad enough this summer, the Edmonton Oilers were struck a significant blow last week when the St. Louis Blues signed defenseman Philip Broberg to a two-year, $9.16MM offer sheet and forward Dylan Holloway to a two-year, $4.58MM offer sheet. Oilers’ general manager Stan Bowman has until tomorrow to match both or either respective offer but could allow both to walk and receive draft compensation in return.
PuckPedia gave a solid breakdown of how Edmonton could find its way back to salary cap compliance after the separate trades that brought Vasily Podkolzin to Alberta and sent Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks. The salary cap website asserts that if the Oilers place Evander Kane on long-term injured reserve to start the year, send down Troy Stecher and Derek Ryan, and call up prospect Matt Savoie to the NHL, they will be compliant to start the 2024-25 NHL season if they choose to match both offer sheets.
All things considered — this is a decent scenario for Edmonton. Savoie gives the team a low-cost option to plug into the top six and allows the team some flexibility with newcomers Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson on the wing. By moving either Skinner or Arvidsson down to the third line, Holloway could play the wing on the team’s fourth line while moving Mattias Janmark to fourth-line center in this scenario.
The team would still have seven available defensemen to choose from to start the year and Stecher likely would have been light on playing time regardless. Josh Brown and Ty Emberson could split time based on matchups leaving Edmonton’s only glaring hole at the fourth-line center position.
Edmonton is not necessarily out of the woods just yet as it’s uncertain when Kane will ultimately return from his offseason surgery. It’s expected he will be placed on LTIR to begin the season which will keep him out of the lineup for the first 10 games and 24 days of the 2024-25 NHL season. Once the season begins, however, the Oilers will again be in a situation where tough decisions must be made. The Oilers could still allow both players to walk giving them just over $6MM to start the year after placing Kane on LTIR.
It will be interesting to see how aggressive GM Bowman is in bringing back two pieces that haven’t had much opportunity with the organization up to this point. All in all, even with clearing Ceci’s salary and having a clear pathway toward cap compliance to start the year — it will take some time for Edmonton to exit this precarious scenario.
Evander Kane Likely To Undergo Surgery, Start Season On LTIR
The Oilers will likely be without forward Evander Kane to start this season as he recovers from a yet-to-be-performed undisclosed surgery, according to the team’s Bob Stauffer (X link).
Kane played through a good chunk of last season with a sports hernia, he revealed to reporters in April. It plagued him through the Oilers’ run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, holding him out of five of Edmonton’s 25 playoff games. It’s unclear if today’s news is related.
The recovery from the undisclosed surgery would likely sideline him for at least the first 10 games and 24 days of the 2024-25 campaign, meaning the Oilers can place him on long-term injured reserve. Doing so would allow them to gain temporary relief from his $5.125MM cap hit, giving new general manager Stan Bowman some much-needed financial flexibility. Edmonton’s roster currently projects to check in at more than $350K over the $88MM upper limit, per PuckPedia. Not only do the Oilers need space for day-to-day transactions, but they also still need to come to agreements with RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
After an underwhelming 2023-24 season, the 33-year-old Kane may have seemed like a probable trade candidate for Edmonton to clear cap space. But a full no-movement clause through July 1, 2025, meant he could have blocked any move, including a waiver placement, and the second year of term remaining on his deal makes him a tougher sell to interested teams.
In fact, it’s been an underwhelming couple of seasons for Kane after a strong initial showing in Edmonton. His 44 points in 77 games last season were especially poor production for the power forward, and his 0.57 points per game were his worst since the 2015-16 season. He didn’t fare much better in an injury-plagued 2022-23 campaign either, limited to 16 goals and 28 points in 41 games. His 0.68 points per game that year cratered from the year prior, when he put up 0.91 per game after signing with the Oilers midseason following a contract termination by the Sharks.
The two-time 30-goal scorer still finished fourth on the Oilers in goals (24) and led them in hits (250) last year, but his 16:47 ATOI was his lowest usage since his rookie season with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009-10.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Afternoon Notes: Clune, Devils, Kane, Holloway
The Anaheim Ducks have hired former player Rich Clune as an assistant coach, shares Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). Clune has spent the last two seasons as a development coach with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, joining the team he once captained immediately following his 2022 retirement. Clune added a role behind the bench last season, and will now get a chance to do the same at the NHL level.
Clune was a career minor-league bruiser, who played in just two full NHL seasons as part of his 15-year career in North American pros. He scored a career-high nine points in 47 games during the 2012-13 season, swapping record stats in the following year with seven points and a career-high 166 penalty minutes in 58 games. Clune would go on to play just one more NHL game in his career, though he did total an impressive 593 career games in the AHL – recording 151 points and 1,607 penalty minutes.
Other notes from around the league:
- The New Jersey Devils have signed a two-year extension with ECHL affiliate the Adirondack Thunder. The two teams have been partnered since 2017-18, following a brief connection between Adirondack and the Calgary Flames. The Thunder have only missed the playoffs once in their six-year connection with New Jersey, though they’ve failed to make it past Divisional finals.
- The Edmonton Oilers could welcome winger Evander Kane back to the lineup on Friday, with head coach Kris Knoblauch designating him a game-time decision to Dan Rosen of NHL.com (Twitter link). Kane hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and hasn’t scored since Game 5 against the Dallas Stars. In total he has just eight points in 20 games this postseason, though his aggression and grit will be a welcome boost over Dylan Holloway, who’d stand to lose his role should Kane step back in, shares Renauld Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link).
Evening Notes: Kane, Capuano, Steelheads
Evander Kane will not dress for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight (as per Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Kane was diagnosed with a sports hernia at the start of the playoffs but is holding off until after the season to have surgery. Kane has rarely practiced during the playoffs but has managed to play through the injury to this point.
Tonight’s scratch will be Kane’s first of the playoffs, which is surprising given the ailment he is dealing with. Kane hasn’t been physically healthy throughout the postseason but has still managed four goals and four assists in 20 games. Despite his best effort to remain in the lineup and produce for the Oilers, the 32-year-old has struggled as of late with just a single assist in his last nine games.
Corey Perry will take Kane’s place in the lineup.
In other evening notes:
- Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that former Ottawa Senators assistant coach Jack Capuano may be inching closer to a job as an assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild. Capuano was an associate coach with the Senators and the team opted to non-renew his contract making him free to join any team. Capuano coached Ottawa’s defense last season and the results weren’t great, although Ottawa’s team defense overall was poor as was their goaltending. The 57-year-old was previously the head coach of the New York Islanders, a position he held for seven years, compiling a 227-192-64 record.
- TSN is reporting that the Ontario Hockey League’s board of governors is approving the relocation of the Mississauga Steelheads to nearby Brampton, Ontario. While the team is moving cities, it’s not much of a change as Mississauga’s Paramount Fine Foods Centre is just seven kilometres away from the Steelheads new home in Brampton, the CAA Centre. Brampton previously had a team up until 2012-13 when the Battalion moved to North Bay, while Mississauga will be without an OHL franchise for the first time in 26 years.
Oilers Notes: Kane, Nurse, Perry
Oilers winger Evander Kane has been a rare participant at practices throughout the playoffs. He revealed at the start of the playoffs that he’d been diagnosed with a sports hernia but is foregoing treatment/surgery until the offseason.
His routine changed slightly today, though, as he began practice on the ice with an extended chat with head coach Kris Knoblauch before a light skate (via NHL Network’s Tom Gazzola). He only stayed on the ice for a few minutes, leaving the session early. Speaking with reporters after practice, Knoblauch then declined to confirm Kane’s availability for tomorrow’s Game 3 (per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen). If unable to play, it would be his first scratch of the postseason. He’s contributed four goals and eight points in 20 games for Edmonton thus far but has a -7 rating. His 37 PIMs lead the playoffs.
Elsewhere from Oil Country as the Cup Final shifts to Edmonton:
- Defenseman Darnell Nurse will likely play in Game 3 after missing much of Game 2 with an injury, Knoblauch said (via Oilers play-by-play voice Jack Michaels). He missed practice this morning, though, suggesting he definitely won’t be 100 percent. The 29-year-old has seen his average ice time dip below 20 minutes per game in the postseason, and he has just three assists and a -15 rating in 20 contests.
- Veteran winger Corey Perry is also probable to return to the lineup after being held out of Game 2 entirely with an injury, per Knoblauch. Perry is on his 16th trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs but has been in and out of the lineup throughout, posting a lone assist in 14 appearances while averaging 11:04 per game. He’s suiting up in his fourth Stanley Cup Final in the past five years, all with different teams.
Evander Kane Diagnosed With Sports Hernia
Oilers winger Evander Kane‘s up-and-down regular season ended on a low note, missing the final three games with an undisclosed injury. Meeting with reporters ahead of tomorrow’s Game 1 against the Kings, he told reporters he was diagnosed with a sports hernia but will likely return to play (via Sportsnet’s Gene Principe).
Sports hernias don’t always require immediate surgery. In less severe cases, rest and cortisone injections may relieve pain and restore range of motion in the groin area, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It’s a playable injury for now, but surgery could be on the table for Kane this summer if it doesn’t fully heal with other treatments throughout the postseason.
Kane, 32, is in the second season of a four-year, $20.5MM contract. He hasn’t been as advertised, playing at a 50-point pace over the life of the deal after producing at a 60-point pace or better in each of the previous four seasons. This season was his healthiest as an Oiler, playing in 77 games, but his 44 points and poor relative possession numbers led to him averaging 16:47 per game, his lowest usage since his rookie season.
He’s seen his usage dwindle down the stretch, playing less than 10 minutes in a game against the Flames a few weeks back and being scratched against the Senators in late March. The Oilers’ secondary scoring has been buoyed by the emergence of Warren Foegele, who had a career-high 20 goals and 41 points with far superior possession metrics to Kane. He’ll likely slot in on Edmonton’s second line with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘ regardless of Kane’s availability. If he can go, it would presumably be in a third-line role with Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry.
Kane is still a more offensively consistent player than other bottom-six options like youngster Dylan Holloway, who’s been limited to six goals and nine points in 38 games this year. If he can recapture even some of his form from the 2022 postseason when he had 13 goals and 17 points in only 15 games, he could be key in canceling out a balanced L.A. forward lineup.
Morning Notes: Luukkonen, Mantha, Blackhawks, Oilers
The Buffalo Sabres are working on signing goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to an extension, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shares in the latest 32 Thoughts article. Luukkonen is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. Goalie partner Eric Comrie is also set to enter free agency this summer, while rookie Devon Levi is signed through the end of next season.
Luukkonen unexpectedly found his way into the starter’s net this season, appearing in 54 games despite competition from Levi and Comrie. He performed well with the chance, recording 27 wins and a .910 save percentage. – serving as the only Sabres goalie to record a save percentage above .900. This season marked Luukkonen’s first year in a full-time NHL role, after splitting the last three years between the major and minor leagues. And while he performed well, he wasn’t the starter many Sabres fans expected entering the season. That weight was instead on 22-year-old Levi’s shoulders – but he quickly lost the role after posting four wins and a .887 save percentage through his first 10 games. Luukkonen stepped in as relief and didn’t let go of the role.
At 25, Luukkonen seems poised for at least another chance at a starting role, though Levi’s presence could make a long-term extension challenging for the Sabres to commit to. How they decide to organize their goaltenders for next season could be very telling into Buffalo’s long-term plans.
Other notes from around the league:
- Anthony Mantha returned to the Vegas Golden Knights practices on Saturday, donning a no-contact jersey, per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (Twitter link). Mantha has been red-hot with Vegas since the Trade Deadline, scoring 10 points in his first 18 games with the club – though he missed the team’s season finale with an undisclosed injury. Still not taking contact, Mantha will likely be on the fringe of the lineup as the Golden Knights prepare for Monday’s Game One.
- Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson shared that it’s time for the team to build up, says Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Chicago finished second-last in the league this season, on the back of a forward group that looked desolate when it lost Connor Bedard and Taylor Hall to injury. Finding offensive support will likely be the focus of their building efforts, as the Hawks prepare to weaponize their $38MM projected cap space this summer.
- Both Evander Kane and Mattias Janmark are expected to return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup for their Monday Game One against the Los Angeles Kings, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kane sat out of the team’s final three games of the season with injury, capping his year off at 24 goals and 44 points in 77 appearances. Meanwhile, Janmark was able to finish out the season but missed the team’s Saturday practice. Neither injuries have been disclosed.