Evander Kane injury update: Edmonton Oilers provide major update on $20,500,000 winger's recovery time

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane had knee surgery on Thursday. The Oilers updated fans with the news of the surgery today, saying it went well, and he is expected to need four to eight weeks to recover.

The Oilers' statement reads:

"Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane underwent successful knee surgery on Thursday in Edmonton. It is expected that he will require four to eight weeks of recovery time."

In their statement, the Oilers clarified that the surgery is not related to the abdominal surgery Kane had in September. He will pause his current rehab to focus on his knee recovery.

"While this procedure is unrelated to his abdominal surgery in September, it will require him to pause his current rehabilitation schedule to recover from Thursday's operation," the statement added. "His rehabilitation will continue to take place in Edmonton under the supervision of the club's medical staff."

Kane signed a four-year, $20,500,000 contract with the Oilers in 2022. His contract has a cap hit of $5,125,000 per season.

In the 2023-24 season, Kane scored 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season games. In the playoffs, he added four goals and four assists. Kane has played 930 NHL regular-season games, scoring 326 goals and 291 assists. He has 26 goals and 17 assists in 76 playoff games.

Edmonton Oilers are hungry and heading strongly for a playoff spot

The Edmonton Oilers are having a strong season with a 25-13-3 record at the halfway point. After starting 2-4-1, they reached a 6-7-1 record. Following this, a three-game win streak helped turn things around, and they haven’t looked back.

The Oilers' four-game win streak ended on Thursday with a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, they have recently defeated the Boston Bruins 4-0, Seattle Kraken 4-2, Anaheim Ducks 3-2 and Utah HC 4-1. Over the last 10 games, they’ve won seven.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been key to their success. McDavid leads in assists with 42, while Draisaitl has scored 31 goals and leads in points with 61. The team averages 3.29 goals per game and has a 24% power-play rate. Their penalty kill sits at 76.6%, ranked 25th in the league. Despite this, their strong offense has helped them stay near the top of the division.