Oilers' Kane reveals several injuries that will need surgery to fix
The Edmonton Oilers will be without Evander Kane “for a while” as the power forward is set to undergo surgery for multiple injuries over the next few days.
With training camp officially opening for the Oilers at Rogers Place this morning, the media was able to talk with both GM Stan Bowman and Kane himself about the situation. While it’s been known that Kane was suffering from a sports hernia last season, he also listed several previously unknown injuries that will be operated on as well.
“I’m having a lot done, both abductors on each hip, two torn lower abominable muscles done and two hernias,” Kane described. “I felt something was wrong in late October [last season]… and just kind of slowly got worse over time.
“Obviously in the playoffs… it wasn’t any better it was getting severely worse.”
Evander Kane discusses his upcoming surgery & recovery plans on the opening day of #Oilers Training Camp.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/90AkbN8mM3
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 18, 2024
That is quite the laundry list of injuries for the 33-year-old with the surgery scheduled to take place over the next few days. The timing of the surgery has spurred plenty of questions as well with it coming so close to the start of the new season.
Kane says that while he knew about these injuries after the season, a lengthy process had to take place to plan out a game plan, meet with doctors, and schedule the proper procedures.
“Everybody agreed we wanted to see how things looked after we took some time off to see if anything settled down [and] if anything could be rehabbed… that ended up not being the case,” Kane said. “This is a big undertaking and an injury and for me, something I want to get fixed once and get fixed correctly.”
Kane refused to put a timeline on a potential return after the surgery as did Bowman. The Oilers GM did, however, concede that the Oilers will be without Kane for an extended period.
“He is going to not be available for training camp and the beginning of the season,” Bowman said. “He is going to be out for a while… he’s not going to be here for a while.”
#Oilers GM & Executive VP of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman addressed the media this morning at the start of training camp, providing an update on Kane, commenting on PTO invites Dermott & Hoffman plus much more.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ox7j6Takly
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 18, 2024
Despite this, it doesn’t appear the Oilers will rush into placing Kane on LTIR. Rather, Bowman expressed a desire to keep Kane on the regular roster for as long as they can to accrue cap space that could help the Oilers have the flexibility to potentially make an in-season trade.
Of course, that will depend on the health of the other players on the roster.
It’s been a long offseason full of conflicting reports on Kane’s status. Now that both Bowman and Kane have cleared the air and provided some answers, we know what the next few steps will look like for the player and team.
The only question left is how long Kane will be on the shelf.