Oilers GM Ken Holland wants Evander Kane, HC Jay Woodcroft to return next season

After the conclusion of the Edmonton Oilers’ season on Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the organization held the standard media availability and wind-down, customary of teams at the conclusion of their season, where new details emerge about the current state of the organization. Wednesday was no different, with news coming out that none of Edmonton’s injured players need surgery, and that Oilers GM Ken Holland will address his goaltending, but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about forward Jesse Puljujarvi’s expiring contract and arbitration eligibility. Intriguing as those storylines are, there is plenty more as it comes to the Oilers’ offseason to-do list, including the head-coaching position, forward Evander Kane and free-agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko.

Holland said in his availability that he would love to have head coach Jay Woodcroft back for next season, but he still has to talk to the coach about their respective plans, via Tim Campbell of NHL.com. It’s no surprise that the Oilers would want their coach to return after the impressive stretch he led the team on after replacing former head coach Dave Tippett in mid-February. At the time of the change, Edmonton was five points out of a playoff spot, but with Woodcroft, the team went 26-9-3, finishing second in the Pacific Division, and of course leading them to the Western Conference Finals. With the availability of a myriad of head-coaching options, including elite names like Barry Trotz and Bruce Cassidy, it could be tempting for Edmonton to try to upgrade at the position, but after Woodcroft’s success with a group that seemed destined to free-fall down the NHL standings, it would be hard not to try to replicate that success over a full season.

Holland also put forth the same sentiment toward Kane as he had for Woodcroft, saying he would love to have him back next season, but of course he would still need to work that out. Interestingly, the GM added that while Kane played for a $2M cap hit this year, he doesn’t expect Kane to play for that same number again next year. Given Kane’s excellent performance for the Oilers after signing with them in January, his sensational playoff run and his apparent chemistry with Edmonton’s stars, it’s clear why Holland would want to re-sign him, but also clear why he does not believe it will be for the same $2M cap hit. In 43 regular-season games, Kane had 22 goals and 17 assists, and he followed it up with 13 goals and four assists in 15 playoff contests.

Moving from one talented winger the Oilers would like to have to another, The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that free-agent forward Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday and will begin meeting with teams on his short list. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector adds that Edmonton is among the teams on Kuzmenko’s shortlist. Recall last week, when Thomas Drance reported on Sportsnet that Kuzmenko was going to begin the process of second interviews with teams. Interestingly, considering the circumstances, Kuzmenko shares an agent with Kane in that of Dan Millstein. The similarity won’t necessarily give Edmonton any edge in signing either, but should give Holland and Millstein a sense of comfort and familiarity if they work on both. As Spector points out, the pitch to Kuzmenko would also be very similar to the one they gave Kane when he had his pick of teams in January: Come play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and build value for the next contract.

Kuzmenko, who has spent his entire professional career in the KHL, doesn’t appear to have the allure that other point-producers on this year’s free-agent market seem to have, which could be due in some part to several factors, including but not limited to the political situation in Russia, the fact that the KHL plays at times generally inaccessible to most North American fans, and the up-and-down results from other KHL free agents who have made the jump to the NHL. These factors aside, the 26-year-old winger is not wanting for production. After a slow start to his career, Kuzmenko has slowly but steadily improved his play year after year, culminating in a dominant 2021-22 for St. Petersburg, where he scored 20 goals to go with 33 assists in 45 games, adding another seven goals and seven assists in 16 playoff games. If Edmonton can secure his services, he should factor as another strong top-six option the organization can give McDavid and Draisaitl to utilize, and should give Kuzmenko an easy opportunity to show off his skillset as well.