The Evander Kane situation

[bellagiobob]

Kane has conducted himself like a pro and a gentleman since arriving in Edmonton. I’ll continue to give him the benefit of the doubt and disregard pot stirring dickheads like Friedman.

I don’t get the hate that Kane is getting. How the hell is he selfish for wanting to come back and help the team win in the playoffs, knowing he’ll need time before then to get back into game shape. You want to play the blame game,start with the half dozen or more players who have selfishly mailed in most of their season so far, putting us in a bind to try and add multiple players at multiple positions, many that we shouldn’t have to if they were just playing at their expected level.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

I don’t get the hate that Kane is getting. How the hell is he selfish for wanting to come back and help the team win in the playoffs, knowing he’ll need time before then to get back into game shape. You want to play the blame game,start with the half dozen or more players who have selfishly mailed in most of their season so far, putting us in a bind to try and add multiple players at multiple positions, many that we shouldn’t have to if they were just playing at their expected level.

Well then he should have started the surgeries sooner and not wait until the end of summer. Then he could come back and make a difference, but coming back for 3 games just to screw our cap is something that management/ the owner shouldn't allow.

3 freaking games..................

 

[Heavy Dee]

I don’t get the hate that Kane is getting. How the hell is he selfish for wanting to come back and help the team win in the playoffs, knowing he’ll need time before then to get back into game shape. You want to play the blame game,start with the half dozen or more players who have selfishly mailed in most of their season so far, putting us in a bind to try and add multiple players at multiple positions, many that we shouldn’t have to if they were just playing at their expected level.

Here is why.

The guy has had 3 or 4 things surgically repaired as a result of last season. Why not get this done after the season to get yourself back well into this season and be ready for the playoffs?

That's what any 'team' guy would have done.

But no, he enjoyed his summer, then played this game knowing his return would be cutting it close to TDL and playoffs. It was effin selfish.

 

[nerevarine]

I don’t get the hate that Kane is getting. How the hell is he selfish for wanting to come back and help the team win in the playoffs, knowing he’ll need time before then to get back into game shape. You want to play the blame game,start with the half dozen or more players who have selfishly mailed in most of their season so far, putting us in a bind to try and add multiple players at multiple positions, many that we shouldn’t have to if they were just playing at their expected level.

It makes no sense at all. He got hurt, now is getting healthy and wants to get some games in before the playoffs. The fact that the team has no cap space is not his fault.

 

[Mr Positive]

There are some possibilities

One, he could be back earlier than we think

Two, this timing is awfully close, so maybe the team just needs to put on a public show for this. We'll see if we do end up using that space.

 

[elmeroil]

f*** could this team ever use a healthy Kane right now

 

[ManOfSteelI]

I’ll take a player working hard to get back onto the roster to help his struggling teammates over one willing to cheat the system to win , any day of the week. (Spare me the arguments that other teams do it so it’s acceptable).

We already have too many ineffective, slackers on the roster. Don’t really need to encourage another one.

Kane at 70% is better than most of this high paid roster- looking at you Nuge, Arvidsson, Henrique…

I hear you and I hope that's how it plays out. But, it's far from a guarantee that we'll get an effective Kane.

I didn't say a single word about cheating. Him waiting until he's closer to 100% instead of pushing to come back early at 70% is not cheating. You don't think that Kucherov or Stone could have chosen to come back earlier if they so desired? (Not that there would have been the cap for them to, but just hypothetically).

Kane deciding to wait until game 83 and saying "Hey team, I'm gonna give myself as long as possible to make sure I'm in the best shape I can be in. So, I'm going to wait until game 83, which also helps the team in the process."

.. is VERY different than the team going to Kane and saying "Hey Kane, you have to sit out until game 83 for the sake of the team. We don't care if you want to come back early".

 

[ManOfSteelI]

Also, guys - just because people (including myself) are pushing back, doesn't mean that we HATE Kane. I just think that realistically, Kane is closer to 2024 version than he is 2022 version. Lots of rose tinted glasses in here.

 

[ConnorNova0929]

Also, guys - just because people (including myself) are pushing back, doesn't mean that we HATE Kane. I just think that realistically, Kane is closer to 2024 version than he is 2022 version. Lots of rose tinted glasses in here.

Great!

He had 24 goals last season and played a chunk of it injured.

He was 4th on the team in goals. I hope that's the version we get.

 

[ManOfSteelI]

Great!

He had 24 goals last season and played a chunk of it injured.

He was 4th on the team in goals. I hope that's the version we get.

Again, rose tinted glasses.

If you look back at commentary on these boards, there was lots of complaining about Kane last year. How he would shoot aimlessly from low percentage areas. How he constantly killed plays..

I also tend to recall a healthy amount of that production coming in the first quarter - where he truly was one of the only players playing well.

It's a real mixed bag dude. It really shouldn't be controversial to suggest that a 33 year old power forward coming off of multiple abdominal and knee surgeries might not be highly effective.

 

[AddyTheWrath]

This entire fever pitch is because of some speculation by Friedman.

There isn't anything actually factual that Kane wants to come back early.

Lol it's not just Friedman.

Seravalli has said they don't know if they can spend Kane's money. Even Stauffer said it on Oilers Now today.

 

[AddyTheWrath]

Kane choosing to return for a few meaningless games instead of taking a conditioning stint down in Bakersfield, which he can still do while on LTIR, handcuffs this team into not being able to make additions at the deadline. When every single other player in this position has played ball, it's absolutely a selfish move, regardless of how many of you want to paint it.

This is a player that has worn out his welcome on multiple other teams. This is a player who faked a COVID vaccination to play games.

Evander Kane is about Evander Kane and has always been. He's a wild card on the best of days and it's ridiculous he's holding the Oilers hostage because he feels he should return a week before the playoffs start.

 

[ConnorNova0929]

Again, rose tinted glasses.

If you look back at commentary on these boards, there was lots of complaining about Kane last year. How he would shoot aimlessly from low percentage areas. How he constantly killed plays..

I also tend to recall a healthy amount of that production coming in the first quarter - where he truly was one of the only players playing well.

It's a real mixed bag dude. It really shouldn't be controversial to suggest that a 33 year old power forward coming off of multiple abdominal and knee surgeries might not be highly effective.

Ya, and he was hurt when his production dropped. He was being "selfish" by playing through those injuries.

Do you even watch games or just go by whatever is the commentary on these boards?

 

[McDNicks17]

Lol it's not just Friedman.

Seravalli has said they don't know if they can spend Kane's money. Even Stauffer said it on Oilers Now today.

So three people saying they don't know, but somehow it's turned into Kane is going rogue and refusing to not come back early.

 

[ManOfSteelI]

Ya, and he was hurt when his production dropped. He was being "selfish" by playing through those injuries.

Do you even watch games or just go by whatever is the commentary on these boards?

It's ok dude, you don't need to be so standoff-ish. I know it's the internet, but I have no interest in getting into a meaningless jab fest. I'm laying out logical arguments. I'm not picking sides just for the sake of it. Be reasonable here.

Do you hear yourself? Lets think about this for a second.

• His hot streak ended and the poor play seeped in and turned him into a net negative.
• At this point, the rest of the team had started to turn it around and were one of the best teams in the league, despite Kane's production diminishing and while having largely negative metrics. Perhaps you recall him pouting after his play forced Knob to put him into the bottom 6?
• Kane, playing through the injuries very likely further exasperated his condition and made it worse.
• Even in the early rounds of the playoffs, he wasn't particularly effective.
• Towards the end of the playoffs, he was in such bad condition that he could hardly move. He couldn't sit down on the bench. He was a detriment at this point.

If he had decided to address those injuries and sit out earlier in the season, it's very likely that they never would have gotten as bad as they eventually did. Who's to say how long it would have taken for him to address them; nonetheless, I'd wager it's likely that he could have spent some time rehabbing to come back in a much more effective state for the playoffs.

Honestly? Who knows. Kane being in better shape very well may have won us the cup.

 

[AddyTheWrath]

So three people saying they don't know, but somehow it's turned into Kane is going rogue and refusing to not come back early.

I mean..yes? Has this ever been a debate for any other player in a similar situation? Kucherov, Stone, Kane (Patrick), Tkachuk…

 

[McDNicks17]

I mean..yes? Has this ever been a debate for any other player in a similar situation? Kucherov, Stone, Kane (Patrick), Tkachuk…

How many of them were out all season with a handful of different injuries?

 

[Chet Manley]

So what happens if they don't cheat by having a healthy Kane sit until the end of the season? Is it simply however many games left/82 in cap space that needs to be planned for? Does him have to be off LTIR in order to practice with the team or do an AHL conditioning stint? I've never been interested in the details of this scumbag move before now.

 

[bellagiobob]

Here is why.

The guy has had 3 or 4 things surgically repaired as a result of last season. Why not get this done after the season to get yourself back well into this season and be ready for the playoffs?

That's what any 'team' guy would have done.

But no, he enjoyed his summer, then played this game knowing his return would be cutting it close to TDL and playoffs. It was effin selfish.

“We all agreed to see how things looked after we took some time off (after the season) and if things could improve via rehab. We tried that, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. The next step was to find the best possible surgeon. There was some confusion on how we would fix this. Some doctors had different opinions. We have sorted it out and will now have surgery,” explained Kane.

 

[AddyTheWrath]

How many of them were out all season with a handful of different injuries?

The number of injuries makes a difference how? Kucherov was out all year

 

[foshizzle]

I don’t get the hate that Kane is getting. How the hell is he selfish for wanting to come back and help the team win in the playoffs, knowing he’ll need time before then to get back into game shape. You want to play the blame game,start with the half dozen or more players who have selfishly mailed in most of their season so far, putting us in a bind to try and add multiple players at multiple positions, many that we shouldn’t have to if they were just playing at their expected level.

It’s because he wants to come back early (like he tends to want to do) not fully recovered. He has done this with his wrist (then admitted it wasn’t healed) then he knew about his hernias and refused to get treated and couldn’t help the team, and is doing it again. The team
Is asking him get 100% healthy, practice hard with the team to get ready for game 1. Playing 8-10 games left in the season is giving him no time to train.

 

[ConnorNova0929]

It's ok dude, you don't need to be so standoff-ish. I know it's the internet, but I have no interest in getting into a meaningless jab fest. I'm laying out logical arguments. I'm not picking sides just for the sake of it. Be reasonable here.

Do you hear yourself? Lets think about this for a second.

• His hot streak ended and the poor play seeped in and turned him into a net negative.
• At this point, the rest of the team had started to turn it around and were one of the best teams in the league, despite Kane's production diminishing and while having largely negative metrics. Perhaps you recall him pouting after his play forced Knob to put him into the bottom 6?
• Kane, playing through the injuries very likely further exasperated his condition and made it worse.
• Even in the early rounds of the playoffs, he wasn't particularly effective.
• Towards the end of the playoffs, he was in such bad condition that he could hardly move. He couldn't sit down on the bench. He was a detriment at this point.

If he had decided to address those injuries and sit out earlier in the season, it's very likely that they never would have gotten as bad as they eventually did. Who's to say how long it would have taken for him to address them; nonetheless, I'd wager it's likely that he could have spent some time rehabbing to come back in a much more effective state for the playoffs.

Honestly? Who knows. Kane being in better shape very well may have won us the cup.

Congratulations on writing another garbage post lol.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I about to become very unpopular.

Kane is just the type of player we need in the line up. We are in need of that type of player. When Kane is on his game? We love him?

But we are upset that he wants to play and get ready for the playoffs.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I've written this a few times, but can someone explain to me how the timeline for Kane's in-season return could possibly work?

Let's say he plays their final week of the season, that means returning to action on April 9th. But how much practice time with the team will he need to get close to game shape? It's minimum 3 weeks, if not a month. Still, for arguments sake, let's go with that super optimistic timeline and say 3 weeks.

That would mean Kane would need to be back in practice by March 20th. Has there been any report that Kane is 2 weeks away from practicing with the team? I don't believe so.


The math just doesn't math.


And this is without them considering an AHL conditioning stint.

 

[bellagiobob]

It’s because he wants to come back early (like he tends to want to do) not fully recovered. He has done this with his wrist (then admitted it wasn’t healed) then he knew about his hernias and refused to get treated and couldn’t help the team, and is doing it again. The team
Is asking him get 100% healthy, practice hard with the team to get ready for game 1. Playing 8-10 games left in the season is giving him no time to train.

We have no idea that he is doing 'it again'. None of us are his doctor and know what his recovery schedule is, and when he will be ready to go. Maybe he won't be at 100%, but unlike a lot of our players, Kane is a gamer, who will risk his own health for the sake of the team. Kane at 90% is a hell of a lot better than what we are seeing on the ice right now. And a player like Kane won't be ready for game one of the playoffs by playing no games. He likely needs a ramp up period to get into game shape. Maybe that can be in the AHL depending on his return date. Anyhow, I'm not about to get angry at a player that actually has a pulse, plenty of other options if one wants to be enraged.