The Edmonton Oilers got great news today when Evander Kane returned to the ice for his first practice of the season, and now plans for his return are on.
The Oilers have confirmed that Kane is ruled out for the entirety of the regular season, meaning he'll return some time in the playoffs. However, he could be playing games sooner.
Oilers could send Evander Kane to AHL conditioning stint with his approvals
One avenue for teams to rehab players coming back from long absences has been the AHL conditioning stint, sending down a player to play a few games in the minor league and get up to speed. He clearly wasn't going full effort in practice today.
According to a salary cap expert on social media, Evander Kane cannot be activated and sent to the AHL, but a long term injury conditioning loan is possible if Kane agrees to the roster move.
Even if the Oilers can persuade Kane to accept the roster move, there will be one major wrinkle. The Bakersfield Condors regular season ends on March 29th, and the team won't be making the playoffs this season.
The Oilers season ends on April 16th, so it would be impossible for Kane to join the AHL team for a conditioning loan next week and return to Edmonton without getting put back on the active roster.
It's unfortunate, but Kane will need to find a way to get back up to speed while just in practice with the Edmonton Oilers. The encouraging factor is that Kane was still very good last season - scoring 24 goals and leading the team in hits at 32 years old - and still playing through injury all year.
