Insider labels the Oilers as the "Edmonton Golden Knights"
Mark Spector, a prominent Oilers insider has recently published an article that are ruffling some feathers in Oil Country.
It was recently announced that Evander Kane will be undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia suffered last year. As for timelines go, no one really has a clear indication as to when Kane will be cleared to return. Assuming Kane goes on LTIR, Spector did not hold back on his thoughts.
The NHL will well remember the year the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023. As per TSN, Stone has gone on LTIR each of the past three seasons, which allowed the Golden Knights to exceed the cap by roughly the amount of his salary until the playoffs begin. The Knights have taken advantage by acquiring players such as Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin.
As per Mark Spector: First of all, Kane has to have an injury that keeps him out for seven months. If he wishes to return in January or February, and the doctors sign off on that, then Bowman has no choice but to activate the player.
If the Oilers get a bunch of injuries, then Kane will be placed on LTIR simply for salary relief. By the Trade Deadline, if he is not ready to return, then the Oilers could bring on nearly all of his salary in new players - but Kane could not play for the rest of the regular season.
Then there is this scenario: Edmonton has no serious injuries, and their current cap space of $945,833 accrues over the season, growing to about $3 million by the deadline. Then they put Kane on LTIR, use his cap space (minus the $945,833), and end up with around $7 million in cap space to use at the Trade Deadline.
source: Sportsnet
Will Oilers channel their inner Golden Knights dealing with Kane's injuries?
| POLL | ||
Should the Oilers follow the same strategy as the Golden Knights? | ||
| Yes | 55 | 69.6 % |
| No | 24 | 30.4 % |
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