Oilers forward Evander Kane has knee surgery, current rehab put on hold

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Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane, who was already out this season due to abdominal surgery last fall, has had his rehab put on hold because of knee surgery.

The hard-checking winger underwent knee surgery on Thursday, which was unrelated to his prior procedure.“I had a knee scope done yesterday,” Kane said via video conference Friday. “It was something that kind of popped up a few weeks after I had my abdominal surgery, something I had noticed. We finally got it looked at and found there was something that needed to be removed in my knee.

“It wasn’t any sort of repair work or major structural work that was done, so it should be a pretty quick recovery.”

At the same time, it means his current rehab work from the prior surgery has been put on hold while he recovers, which the club estimates should take about four to eight weeks.

“Four to eight weeks would be if I didn’t have this abdominal surgery and I was just playing. That would be a timeline when an NHL player can come back from this procedure,” Kane said. “I anticipate taking a week or two off from the norm then continuing and getting back into it, so I don’t think it’s going to slow me down greatly from my current timeline.

“I’ve dealt with injuries in the past. I’ve dealt with coming off the couch and joining a brand new team in 2022, so I do have a little bit of experience with that. At the same time, I think I’ll be in a better situation coming back this time feeling 100 per cent healthy and in great shape and ready to rock. Whenever that time is, I’m looking forward to being a contributor.”

Whether that means a possible return to the ice in time for a playoff appearance in the spring is up in the air, for now.

“If I play a handful of games or 15 games before the end of the regular season, or if I come back in playoffs, I haven’t really given much thought to that,” Kane said. “My focus has been getting back to 100 per cent. That’s why I got that procedure done yesterday, so I could feel 100 per cent when I get back and there were no issues moving forward.

“Whenever I’m 100 per cent, I will make myself available and intend to play hockey. We’re not there today, and I’m not exactly sure what date that will be. But what I can promise everybody is that I’m doing everything I can to make sure that’s as soon as possible.”

Feeling 100% and ‘1,000 times better’

In his absence, the Oilers have gone 25-13-3 over the first half of the season to sit second in the Pacific Division on pace for a 106-point year. Not that the team’s success has made watching from afar any easier.

“With regards to yesterday’s surgery, to be honest, I’m not frustrated at all, I’m actually really happy we were able to fix that and get me to 100 per cent, so when I do come back and play this year, I’m feeling 100 per cent,” Kane said.

“It might put a pause for a couple of weeks on my current rehab process, but it won’t be very long.

“I think the number that was out there was four to eight weeks and that’s getting back playing after a surgery like this. In terms of rehabbing and training and continuing to feel better, that break is going to be very short.”

The six-foot-two, 218-pound winger is coming off a season with 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) in 77 games while adding eight points (four goals, four assists) in 20 playoff games to help the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Prior to the playoffs, Kane announced he had been dealing with a sports hernia pretty much the entire season.

“When it comes to the injury and what it affects most last year is skating through pain. Every time you take a stride, it felt like you were tearing four or five different things,” Kane said. “Just walking around, being able to lift your leg off the ground six inches was a struggle last year. I could barely jog or run last year.

“As I sit here today, I feel 1,000 times better. I think skating will probably the biggest indicator of how good I truly do feel once I get back on the ice.”

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