Oilers' Kane says skate laceration will take a few years to fully recover from

While Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane is eager to get the 2023-24 season underway, his body still isn’t back at 100%.

Kane suffered a gruesome injury last season in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as his wrist was cut open by the skate blade of Patrick Maroon. It resulted in immediate surgery and forced Kane to miss several months of the 2022-23 season. He was able to return but said at the time he still didn’t have feeling in part of his hand.

Kane was once again hindered by an upper-body injury during last year’s playoffs, which resulted in him not being as effective as Oilers fans have become accustomed to. While that appears to be past him, however, he admitted on Wednesday that it may take years for his wrist injury to heal back to normal.

“It’s an injury that takes probably a few years to get back to 100% in terms of the sensitivity and feeling,” Kane said. “In terms of functionality, I feel great.”

Oilers fans will hope that the final sentence from Kane is the truth, as this team would really benefit from having him play the way he did during the 2021-22 season. The 32-year-old quickly meshed with Connor McDavid that year, scoring 22 goals in 43 regular season games, followed up with 13 goals in 15 playoff outings.

While his wrist still feeling off in terms of sensitivity isn’t ideal, it seems as though Kane believes he can be at his best regardless, and is excited about what lies ahead for him and his teammates.

“Coming into the season, I feel good, I feel healthy, and I’m looking forward to getting our group together and getting into some games,” he said.

Due to injury troubles last season, Kane suited up for just 41 games, scoring 16 goals and 28 points. If he is able to remain healthy throughout the 2023-24 campaign, he could be in for a career season, as he is set to play alongside two players who recorded north of 100 points last season in Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

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