The NHL plans to continue its investigation into the Edmonton Oilers’ use of long-term injured reserve with winger Evander Kane, sources said. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
It’s possible the Oilers could receive a retroactive sanction if the league believes they violated the collective bargaining agreement, Seravalli adds.
Kane spent the entire 2024-25 regular season on LTIR after undergoing abdominal surgery in September and knee surgery in January. He returned for the second game of the first round of the playoffs and appeared in every playoff game until the end.
Teams are allowed to exceed the salary cap during the regular season when a player is on LTIR. There is no salary cap during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some sort of playoff salary cap was reportedly discussed during recent CBA negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA.
It is standard practice in the NHL to review medical reports when a player returns from LTIR for the playoffs. The Oilers have acceded to all of the league’s demands so far, sources told Seravalli. It’s unclear what exactly the NHL found — if anything — to require the investigation to continue.
No team has ever been punished for using LTIR in the salary cap era, although it has become a hot topic in recent years. The Vegas Golden Knights notably activated Mark Stone for Game 1 of the playoffs en route to their 2023 Stanley Cup after spending the second half of the season on LTIR. The Tampa Bay Lightning did the same thing with Nikita Kucherov en route to his 2021 Stanley Cup after spending the entire regular season on LTIR. There are several other examples as well.
Kane had six goals and six assists in 21 playoff games.
The 33-year-old has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.13 million. The Oilers are reportedly evaluating the trade market for Kane ahead of the 2025 deadline, and are rumored to do the same this offseason.
