On Wednesday morning, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman dropped a bombshell, reporting that the Vancouver Canucks were trading for Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers.
Shortly after, Kane himself confirmed the deal, posting a farewell to Edmonton on his Twitter account.
"I’m incredibly excited for the next chapter of my career as I join the Canucks," said Kane. "It’s an honor to become part of an organization and team I grew up watching as a kid. Vancouver is a city that lives and breathes hockey, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play in front of my hometown as I did many years ago as a Vancouver Giant."
The Canucks then made it official not long after.
According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, the Canucks are sending the Ottawa Senators' fourth-round pick to the Oilers — ironically, the same one they acquired from the Oilers in the Vasily Podkolzin trade. In addition, Seravalli reported that the Oilers will not be retaining any salary in the deal.
It's a surprising move for a number of reasons, the biggest being that Kane has not always been well-loved in locker rooms, dating back to his time with the Winnipeg Jets early in his career. There was a well-publicized incident between Kane and Dustin Byfuglien that led to Kane skipping out on a game against the Canucks.
Given that the Canucks just dealt with far more than their fair share of locker room drama last season, acquiring Kane will certainly raise some eyebrows. That said, Kane's issues with the Jets happened a decade ago; Kane is a 33-year-old veteran now.
More concerning is Kane's history of legal trouble, ranging from unproven allegations of assault and sexual assault to lawsuits over unpaid gambling debts to legal disputes with his estranged wife, Anna Kane.
So, why did the Canucks acquire Kane?
Well, Kane scores goals, and that papers over all else when it comes to the NHL. Despite injury troubles of late, Kane can be relied on to score 20-30 goals every season, and brings speed and size to go with his ability to put the puck in the net.
He was also cheap to acquire, as fourth-round picks hold minimal value. With the Canucks having few assets to work with as they attempt to put together a playoff team, adding a top-six winger for such little cost has to feel like a win for general manager Patrik Allvin.
That said, there is another cost associated with Kane: a $5.125 million cap hit through the 2025-26 season.
By trading for Kane, the Canucks are bailing out the Oilers, taking a significant contract off their hands. The Oilers are also being investigated by the NHL for their use of long-term injured reserve for Kane last season.
Kane didn't play a single regular-season game after a significant surgery in 2024: abdominal surgery to repair his abductors, two hernias, and two abdominal tears. In addition, Kane underwent knee surgery in January as he recovered from the abdominal surgery.
And yet, by the time the postseason came around, Kane was suddenly healthy enough to play all but one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On the ice, that's the biggest concern with this trade. Is Kane healthy enough to play in the regular season for the Canucks or did they just spend $5.125 million of their limited cap space on a player who will spend most of the season in the press box?
That's not the only concern on the ice, of course. Kane is not exactly a sparkling example of two-way play, with a tendency for serious defensive lapses.
Kane had a 46.3% corsi in the playoffs for the Oilers, as shot attempts were 349-to-301 for the opposition when he was on the ice at 5-on-5. His HockeyViz heatmap from his last full season doesn't paint a pretty picture either, with plenty of red in dangerous areas of the defensive zone indicating higher than average shots from those areas.
In other words, the Canucks paid a draft pick to the Oilers to take a contract off their hands for a player who has a detrimental effect on the ice and has a long list of issues off the ice. Oh, and he's also 33 years old and on the decline.
Allvin, however, is excited about the deal.
“Evander is a physical power forward who will add some much-needed size and toughness to our group,” said Allvin in a press release. “We like the way he wins puck battles along the boards and handles himself in the dirty areas in front of the net. Evander moves well around the ice and has proven to be a productive goal scorer in the National Hockey League. We are excited to bring him back home to Vancouver and our staff looks forward to working with him this coming season.”
