NHL Investigating Oilers Over Evander Kane’s Return to Playoffs

Kane, who underwent two significant surgeries—one in September for abdominal and groin issues, and another in January to remove a knee growth—did not play during the regular season but returned in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Kings. The league is reviewing whether the Oilers violated the spirit of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by activating Kane only in the postseason, when the salary cap no longer applies.

Although the Oilers reportedly complied with all NHL requests for medical documentation, the league may still pursue retroactive penalties if it finds wrongdoing. No team has ever been punished for LTIR usage during the cap era, despite growing criticism and ongoing CBA discussions about potential playoff cap reform.

Why Are the Oilers Being Investigated After Seemingly Obvious Violations by Others?

The Oilers used Kane’s LTIR relief cautiously, only spending it after confirming he wouldn’t return during the regular season. His case is one of several playoff LTIR returns league-wide. On the surface, it appears the Oilers took extra precautions to ensure they didn’t violate the rule, which for years has been seemingly disregarded by other teams.

The investigation has sparked questions about a potential double standard in how the NHL polices LTIR use. Critics point to past examples—like Tampa Bay activating Nikita Kucherov for the 2021 playoffs after he missed the entire regular season, or Vegas managing similar maneuvers with Mark Stone—where they appeared to exploit the system twice without consequence. Even the Florida Panthers — who won the Stanley Cup this season — used LTIR with Matthew Tkachuk. That allowed them to acquire Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Tkachuk returned for the postseason.

Despite growing calls from general managers to close the playoff cap loophole, the league has yet to penalize any team. The Oilers’ case raises eyebrows. Why is Edmonton under the microscope now?

With Kane entering the final year of his $20.5 million contract and trade rumors swirling, any penalty could further complicate Edmonton’s already tight salary cap situation ahead of extensions for stars like Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. Assuming the Oilers even did anything wrong, the loss of draft picks or fines would and should create a flurry of trouble for the league, which has seemingly let teams get away with this for years.