The NHL plans to continue investigating the Edmonton Oilers' usage of long-term injured reserve with winger Evander Kane, sources told Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
It's possible the Oilers could receive retroactive punishment if the league deems they violated the collective bargaining agreement, Seravalli adds.
Kane spent the entire 2024-25 regular season on LTIR after undergoing abdominal surgery in September and knee surgery in January. He returned for Game 2 of Round 1 of the playoffs and suited up in every postseason game the rest of the way.
Teams are allowed to exceed the salary cap during the regular season when a player is on LTIR. There's no salary cap during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some sort of postseason salary cap has reportedly been discussed in recent CBA negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA.
It's standard practice for the NHL to examine medical reports when a player returns from LTIR for the playoffs. The Oilers have complied with all of the league's requests thus far, sources told Seravalli. It's unclear what the NHL found - if anything - to require continuing the investigation.
No team has ever been punished for LTIR usage in the salary-cap era, although it has become a hot topic in recent years. The Vegas Golden Knights notably activated Mark Stone for Game 1 of the playoffs en route to their 2023 Stanley Cup after he spent the second half of the season on LTIR. The Tampa Bay Lightning did the same thing with Nikita Kucherov en route to their 2021 Stanley Cup after he spent the entire regular season on LTIR. There's several other examples, too.
Kane recorded six goals and six assists in 21 games during the postseason.
The 33-year-old has one year left on his contract with a $5.13-million cap hit. The Oilers reportedly gauged the trade market for Kane ahead of the 2025 deadline, and it's rumored they'll do the same this offseason.
