April 24, 2022 by Eric Friesen

At the midway point of the season, the Edmonton Oilers playoff aspirations seemed very much in doubt. But since Evander Kane arrived on January 29, the Oilers have gone 25-10-4, giving them the fifth-best points percentage in the NHL during that span (.692).

Despite going more than eight months without playing in the NHL, Kane showed no signs of rust upon joining the Oilers. The former fourth-overall pick scored on his second shift in his Oilers debut, and has produced at close to a point-per-game pace in the season’s second-half.

So, perhaps fittingly, Kane scored his fourth career NHL hat trick and added an assist to lift the Oilers to a 6-3 victory over the Western Conference-leading Colorado Avalanche on Friday and secure a playoff berth for the third consecutive season. Kane reached the 20-goal plateau for the seventh consecutive season and became the fastest player to score his first 20 goals with the Oilers since Jimmy Carson had 20 in his first 28 games in 1988-89.

“Any time you join a team halfway through a season it’s going to take you more than a couple games to really get your game to where it was the previous year,” said Kane during his post-game interview with Oilers TV on Friday. “I just try to work hard on the ice to get it to that level and continue to develop chemistry with my linemates. That takes a little bit of time, but I really like where things are at right now. And I’m just trying to keep building on that.”

Perfect wing man for McDavid

Since Connor McDavid entered the league in 2015-16, the Oilers have been searching for a pure shooter to take advantage of his otherworldly passing skills. Notwithstanding Leon Draisaitl, Kane is the most proven goal-scorer McDavid has played with in his NHL career. And so far, the results have been fantastic.

Kane has 20 goals and 36 points in 39 games this season, which would put him on pace for 42 goals and 76 points in a full 82-game season. Perhaps even more impressively, Kane already has three power-play goals (despite little time on the top unit), two shorthanded goals and two game-winning goals.

While his offensive production has garnered most of the attention since he joined the orange and blue, Kane has the ability to do more than just put the puck in the net. The 30-year-old also offers an intimidation factor and toughness that will make him a valuable asset when the rough play starts to increase in the playoffs.

“[Kane] is playing really well,” said McDavid following Kane’s hat trick performance on Friday. “He forechecks hard, he brings a physical element, he frees up a lot of pucks for me to get my hands on. And obviously, I’m just trying to find him and my other linemates.”

McDavid has had success playing with power forwards that go hard to the net in the past. Though he was too slow to keep up with him, Milan Lucic worked well with McDavid for a short time. Patrick Maroon proved to be a better option in that spot, scoring a career-high 27 goals in 2016-17.

But unlike Lucic or Maroon, Kane has speed to burn, and he’s a better finisher than either of them. McDavid creates a lot of his offence off the rush, and Kane is a dangerous attacker in full flight as well.

What will it cost to keep him?

Based on how well things have worked out for Kane in Edmonton up to this point, there would undoubtedly be interest in a contract extension on both sides. Kane won’t find a better situation around the NHL than playing alongside McDavid. However, there’s a good chance the Oilers won’t be the highest bidder for his services.

The Oilers already have roughly $69 million on the books for next season, and still need to re-sign Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto and Brett Kulak. They will also be in the market to upgrade their goaltending. So, even with the salary cap rising to $82.5 million in 2022-23, the Oilers currently don’t have much space to keep Kane.

Unloading Zack Kassian, or possibly Tyson Barrie in the off-season would give them a little more flexibility to get a deal done with Kane. But he’s still not going to maximize his earning potential in Edmonton. I think the Oilers would be wise to not offer more than $4 million for four years.

Looking at their left wing depth, Zach Hyman is signed long-term, and top prospect Dylan Holloway will likely make the big club next season. So, committing to Kane (who turns 31 in August) for longer than four years carries significant risk. General Manager Ken Holland could also offer him a higher cap hit on a shorter contract, and then sign Puljujarvi and Yamamoto to bridge deals.

The Oilers have to compete for Stanley Cups during McDavid and Draisaitl’s prime years, and Kane gets them close to achieving in that over the next few seasons.