Edmonton Oilers insider sheds light on Evander Kane's injury situation

According to Spector, Kane is scheduled to go in for surgery in about 10 days to correct a sports hernia he played most, if not all of last season dealing with. Spector says a timeline for Kane to return to NHL action will be assessed after the surgery is complete.

Although Kane had dealt with the hernia for a majority of the 23/24 NHL season, he was still productive, scoring 24 goals and playing in 77 games, a pretty high number for someone who must have been in a lot of pain every times he laced up his skates.

Kane struggled to play to his usual standards in the playoffs, even having to sit out most of the Stanley Cup Finals because his hernia had gotten so painful.

As Spector mentioned, Kane's duration on the IR will have a definite impact on the how the Oilers approach the salary cap this season. The Oilers sit just barely below the cap ceiling, and should Kane be available to play at any point during the season, the Oilers will remain close to that cap ceiling.

However, should Kane be unavailable to play during the regular season, the Oilers will free up $5.13 million in cap space, and perhaps can do what the Vegas Golden Knights did and acquire talent at the trade deadline and then play in the playoffs with a cap hit over $88 million.

Kane is a talented player when healthy, and will be missed if he remains out of the lineup. At the same time, the Oilers may be able to take advantage of the extra cap space should Kane hit LTIR.

Source: Oilers Daily
Evander Kane surgery details and recovery timeline made official by Oilers insider