Evander Kane during warmups for the Edmonton Oilers skating without his helmet on.
Photo credit: TSN

Oilers players giving tough love to Evander Kane to send a message

Published April 8, 2024 at 12:27
BY DAWSON MCKENZIE

With the playoffs looming, the Edmonton Oilers players are rumoured to be sending Evander Kane a message in order to get him back up to speed with his play.

The Edmonton Oilers are gearing up for the playoffs, and that means bringing everyone up to the standard they want to play at this year. It appears the Oilers players have taken it upon themselves to hold everyone accountable, and the spotlight of that has mostly fallen on Evander Kane.

Kane is an important piece of the Oilers puzzle, and when he is on the Oilers have a much more complete lineup. However, he has struggled recently, and that has been highlighted by his teammates getting frustrated with him on the bench. Now, Elliotte Friedman has speculated that this frustration is with purpose, as they are trying to get Kane up to speed before the playoffs.

"I think they've just decided they are going to ride him until he gets there," speculated Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "It's gonna be tough love and it's not gonna be the coach that's gonna do it, it's gonna be the players."


"My theory is that the Oilers know if they are gonna be successful in the playoffs, they need Evander Kane," said Friedman. "They need him, they need him. They don't just need him to just be moderately engaged, they need big pain in the ass Evander Kane, they need top forechecker in the league Evander Kane."


Most recently, Corey Perry could be seen going off on Evander Kane after what looked like a bad giveaway. Perry didn't hold back, either, laying into him on the bench where everyone could see it, sending a message that everyone would be held accountable to the standard they want to play at.


For Oilers fans, this is really good news, that the players understand how important it is for everyone to meet their high expectations. We will see if this will translate to playoff success.

As seen on Hockey Feed - Rumor: Oilers locker room giving Evander Kane 'tough love.'
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Oilers players giving tough love to Evander Kane to send a message

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