For the past several months, there has been plenty of speculation about the availability of Oilers winger Evander Kane (or lack thereof). Even following a report last month that he would be undergoing surgery, there is still some uncertainty about how long he might be out for. It appears that we should soon have some clarity on that front as GM Stan Bowman indicated on a recent Oilers Now segment (audio link) that they’re hoping to have an update on Kane in the next seven to ten days. Kane played through a sports hernia injury for much of last season and the playoffs but still managed to put up 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season appearances. Edmonton’s roster movement this summer has positioned themselves to operate without necessarily needing LTIR so even if Kane will be out long-term, they may not choose to put him there when the season starts.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke suffered a fractured foot during offseason training that will keep him out for six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the team also revealed that goaltender Tomas Suchanek had successful surgery to repair a ruptured ACL and will miss six to eight months. Sennecke was a late-riser heading into the draft with his selection coming as a surprise to many. The injury will derail any outside chance he had at making the team but he should be good to go by the time the World Juniors come around. Suchanek, meanwhile, posted a 2.92 GAA and a .910 SV% in 29 games with AHL San Diego last season and was in position to likely be Anaheim’s third-string option this year. This injury likely led to today’s earlier signing of Oscar Dansk to a one-year deal.
- Earlier today, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta relayed that the Red Wings were making progress on a long-term contract for RFA winger Lucas Raymond. Later in the day, he added (Twitter link) that Detroit and RFA Moritz Seider are also working away at a long-term pact. The 23-year-old has been a key cog on the back end for the last three seasons, recording at least 42 points while logging over 22 minutes a night in each of them. Detroit has over $17MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, which should be enough to get both key youngsters signed to long-term agreements.
- Back in April, it was reported that veteran winger Brad Malone would be calling it a career. It was made official today with Malone announcing it on his Twitter page. Malone played in 217 career NHL games between Colorado, Carolina, and Edmonton, while also seeing time in a dozen AHL campaigns, spanning 552 contests. His days in hockey aren’t over, however, as OHL Oshawa announced that they’ve hired Malone as their Player Development Coach.