Multiple reports have surfaced that Evander Kane is officially set to become a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Kevin Weekes is reporting that sources say he has verbally agreed to a deal with the team at a pro-rated amount of $2 million with a full no-move clause attached to the contract.
Elliotte Friedman then tweeted a confirmation report: “Kane deal in EDM is for $750K in salary and $625K in signing bonus, which means an approximate $2.1M cap hit. Full NMC. The exact cap hit is TBD if contract is officially signed before or after 5 ET…if before, slightly under $2.1M. If after, slightly above it.”
Puck Pedia them came out and wrote the following:
- Signing Bonus 625K
- Base Salary 750K
- Actual Cash paid $974K Due to pro-rating for signing during season w/ SB
- Cap Hit/AAV is $2.094M
As expected, there were mixed reactions to the news of the signing. Some thought the Oilers spent way too much for a forward no one else wanted. Others believe Kane will be a perfect fit in Edmonton’s top six and can really help the team. Others don’t care about the money or the term and are simply upset that the Oilers would give Kane his seventh or eighth chance after proving to be somewhat toxic as parts of other franchises.
Meanwhile, members of the Edmonton Oilers roster were asked about the (potential) signing. Zach Hyman said, “If he’s a part of our team it’s going to be exciting to have a player like that, I would say. He’ll be a part of our team if he’s a part of our team.” Duncan Keith added that he couldn’t speculate much on something that might not be official but called Kane a big, strong forward who was tough to play against and said, “Anytime you add a player like that, a good player, you’d be excited by that if that’s going to happen. We’d be happy to have him and excited to have him join the group and help us out.”
The fact the news of Kane signing with the Oilers is out there means there will likely not be any further discipline for the forward from the NHL. How soon he joins the team is unclear, but he has been working out in Vancouver and awaiting a decision from the league. Chris Johnston reports, “The NHL has concluded its Evander Kane investigation and found no conclusive evidence that he “made misrepresentations regarding his COVID-19 status or test results in connection with his international travel.”
Kane is now free to officially sign and could play with Edmonton on Saturday.
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