"Contract is worse than Nurse"; "Dumping him would be a mistake": Fans debate Evander Kane's future with Edmonton Oilers looking to create cap space

NHL fans on social media have been debating winger Evander Kane's future with the Edmonton Oilers. The club is reportedly considering moving on from him to free up cap space.

According to sources, the winger has been asked to waive a no-movement clause in his contract. This means the Oilers have reportedly decided to part ways with Kane to create a more manageable cap space.

While they might have wanted to hold on to him, the reality of the matter is the club could be taking into account the financial constraints and Kane's recent issues with a sports hernia as clauses for this possible move.

According to CapFriendly, the Edmonton Oilers are currently over the cap space by approximately $2.4 million and will need to figure out a solution to reduce their expenses before the start of the next season.

Here's what fans on X/Twitter had to say about Evander Kane's situation with the Oilers:

"Yup. Dumping Kane would be a mistake," one fan said.

Another chimed in and opined:

"Good luck waiting on that if. Contract is worse than nurse."

"He is fine Jim but he is the odd man out. Look at our forwards roster and their salary. If you had to take 1 of them out to improve the team who would it be? Exactly," one fan added.

Here are some of the other reactions on X:

"He was a key reason they got past the Canucks. His physical play took Quinn Hughes basically out of the series. He also got Zhadorov to leave 97/29 alone as the series wore on," another fan opined.

"I think people look at our cap and he’s the most recent under performer due to injuries so he’s getting the standard Oiler fan kick out of town. I agree with you, Kane is a beast when he’s healthy. People need to relax, we need a dog in the line up to go with all these other guys," one X user said.

"Big fan of Kane. There are other less impactful Oilers (McLeod/Ryan/Kulak/Ceci) we could move to make the money work. Wishing him a speedy recovery!" said another fan.

Oilers may be forced to part ways with Evander Kane due to salary cap challenges

The Edmonton Oilers are facing salary cap challenges, which are over $2.4 million. To tackle this obstacle, the Oilers are reportedly considering trading Evander Kane ($5.1 million against the cap) to ease their financial burden.

However, Kane's contract includes a no-trade movement clause, complicating any potential trade. Despite this, the Oilers may be forced to prepare a scenario without Evander Kane, possibly integrating other players like Jeff Skinner into the lineup.

While there were earlier speculations that the Oilers have asked Kane to waive his no-trade clause, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug, that has not materialized at this point:

"Some speculation out there about the Oilers and Evander Kane. As of right now, can confirm they have not asked him to waive his no trade at any point," Rishaug reported on X.

Another scenario is that if Kane remains with the team, he might see a reduced role in the bottom six, which could be a challenge given his current salary and likely preferences.

Apart from Kane, Ryan McLeod ($2.1 million), Brett Kulak ($2.75 million) and Cody Ceci ($3.25 million) are in the conversation of outgoing candidates for the Oilers. It remains to be seen how things unfold regarding Kane's future with the Oilers in the coming days.