Edmonton Oilers Will Have Significant Update on Evander Kane's Injury Imminently

Edmonton Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman spoke with Sportsnet for an interview today, and revealed that a critical update on Evander Kane's injury will be coming soon.

Most recently, Oilers coach Knoblauch said that Kane won't begin participating in any team activities until March at least.

Now, Bowman's comments indicate a new interview with Sportsnet seem to indicate that Kane is at least not progressing ahead of schedule. Bowman did say that an update on Kane's condition would come very soon.

"We'll need clarity on that for sure, when he's available and all that stuff. It can impact how much cap space we have. They do go hand in hand and we should be getting an update very soon."

- Stan Bowman

Recently, NHL insider David Pagnotta reported that Kane may have experienced a setback or a longer recovery than expected, and he may not be able to return until the playoffs.

Edmonton Oilers Will Soon Hear New Timeline for Evander Kane's Return

If Evander Kane is able to return prior to the playoffs, the Oilers would likely welcome the power forward back into their lineup to provide some much needed toughness and secondary scoring.

However, if Kane isn't able to return in the regular season, the Oilers would be able to spend his $5.125M in salary at the trade deadline, then ice a playoff roster above the salary cap.

NHL insider Frank Seravalli detailed that the Oilers could push the boundaries of LTIR rules, and Kane may could return early in the playoffs - just like Mark Stone in Vegas or Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay.

Last season Evander Kane was playing through injury and still found a way to lead the Oilers in hits and score 24 goals. When fully healthy, he should be a much more effective player too, so the Oilers should be excited to get him back.

Whenever Evander Kane returns the Oilers will benefit, but it would be ideal if he returned in the playoffs and gave the Oilers the cap flexibility to spend this deadline. Bowman's comments indicate an imminent update will will greatly affect the Oilers deadline plans, and fans will be tightly dialled in.