Edmonton Oilers Trade Evander Kane To Canucks; What's Next?

Edmonton Oilers Trade Evander Kane To Canucks; What’s Next?

Nov 15, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane (91) celebrates his over-time winning goal against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place.

On Tuesday morning, the Edmonton Oilers traded 33 year old left winger Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 4th round pick(117th overall) in this week’s NHL Draft. This is the same pick given to Vancouver when Edmonton received 24-year-old left winger Vasily Podkolzin in August of last summer. The Oilers got the pick in a previous trade with the Ottawa Senators that sent 22-year-old centre/right winger prospect Xavier Bourgault and 22-year-old right winger prospect Jake Chiasson to Ottawa for 22-year-old left winger prospect Roby Jarventie.

Kane was an Oiler for three and a half seasons, signing with the team halfway through the 2021/2022 season. He put up 111 points in 161 regular season games and 42 points in 68 Playoff games for Edmonton. His first season in the Alberta capital was his best, his second and third seasons were riddled with injuries, and he was back for the Playoffs just this season after missing the entire 2024/2025 regular season rehabbing from injuries. I liked Kane in the first three rounds of the 2024/2025 Playoffs. He certainly didn’t look like a player who had gone 10 months without playing a single hockey game. He had decent production with 12 points in 21 games, but wasn’t the same as this year’s Stanley Cup Final went on. Along with his swagger and physicality, he’s also prone to taking bad penalties, which was more evident and more costly against the Florida Panthers. Before his wrist got cut during a road game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in November of 2022, he was the type of winger that the Oilers needed at that time. He definitely had good moments as an Oiler that shouldn’t be forgotten, but who knows what more could’ve happened with a healthier and more consistent Kane?

Tough decisions have to be made in a sports league that has a salary cap. I enjoyed Evander Kane’s time in Edmonton. It was a controversial signing back then with his personal baggage and leaguewide reputation. But there wasn’t any of that when he joined. The Oilers won rounds, were competitive, and were close to winning it all. He was also good with the Edmonton community off the ice, befriending a child brain tumor survivor, @simply_cecily_rose on Instagram, who has become a popular advocate for child cancer awareness in Oil Country. Kane now gets to spend at least one season with the team in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. Some of his best Playoff hockey was against the Canucks in the 2023/2024 Playoffs, engaging in physical battles with former Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov. It’s not my area of expertise, but there has been talk of a culture problem in Vancouver. So, bringing in a player like Kane, even with the drama being toned down, will be interesting to pay attention to.

This trade was step one of GM Stan Bowman’s plans to make his roster younger and give it more cap space to start the offseason. As I stated in my last article listing what management needs to do, they won’t let go of every player over 30. But at least four or five need to be let go, and Kane is the first. Edmonton has slightly over $18M to spend after this deal, and Viktor Arvidsson should be dealt with any day now as well. We’re still waiting for the eventual Trent Frederic extension we’ve heard about. But if more money keeps going out, Evan Bouchard’s new contract and the number of dollars should be nothing to stress over. There’s also the goalie market to consider, with how big a topic that has been among fans and media. The Oilers will now need a good enough and cheap enough winger, either a prospect, a trade, or a signing, to replace his offense. You may not get the physical play back, but we’ll take the points. I wish him the best in these new endeavors. Once an Oiler, always an Oiler.