Evander Kane Sidelined Until the New Year: Could the Leafs Be the Answer to the Oilers' Problem?
Evander Kane is officially on the shelf until at least the start of 2025, which could potentially open the door for a Leafs/Oilers trade.
After undergoing a surgical procedure to deal with a painful sports hernia, Edmonton Oilers sniper Kane is confirmed to be out of action until the new year, which creates a significant hole in the roster. The Oilers may be in need of some additional help up front, and with so many forwards fighting for so few NHL roster spots in Toronto, the Maple Leafs could very well be an ideal trade partner for the Oilers.
It's no secret that both the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with some salary cap struggles, but if they are able to iron out that kink, a good stop gap solution for Edmonton might be someone like Calle Jarnkrok, who has shown that he can still put the puck in the net, as is evidenced by his career high 20-goal season in 2022-23.
For the Leafs, this would free up $2.1M in cap space to be able to sign the likes of Max Pacioretty and/or Steven Lorentz -- two players who are attending training camp in hopes of signing deals in Toronto.
Jarnkrok doesn't replace all of what the Oilers will be missing in the absence of Kane, but he is certainly a serviceable replacement with an underrated shot. He's also defensively responsible, which could be alluring to Oilers GM Stan Bowman.
From the Leafs' perspective, if they can get Lorentz in at a much lower cap hit than Jarnkrok to fill a similar role on the penalty kill, it could be a big win for the Leafs, especially with Lorentz coming fresh off of his Stanley Cup victory in Florida.
Teams do tend to want to deal out of conference when they can, so perhaps a deal between the Leafs and Oilers isn't as far fetched as some might interpret it to be.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 23 | 1105 ANSWERS Evander Kane Sidelined Until the New Year: Could the Leafs Be the Answer to the Oilers' Problem? Should the Leafs try to move Calle Jarnkrok prior to the start of the season and sign Steven Lorentz to fill his role on the PK on the cheap? | ||
| Yes | 791 | 71.6 % |
| No | 314 | 28.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
