The Edmonton Oilers made it a point of getting younger this offseason. Veterans Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, and Corey Perry all departed, while 21-year-old Isaac Howard was their main acquisition in a trade with Tampa Bay.
It remains to be seen how this philosophy works out for a team looking to get over that final hump and win the Stanley Cup; however, David Staples from The Cult of Hockey doesn’t think one of those former Oilers will be gone for too long.
Staples recently shared his hot takes for the upcoming season on X (formerly Twitter), with one of them being that Edmonton will reacquire Evander Kane come the trade deadline.
“The Oilers will trade for Evander Kane at the deadline,” Staples wrote.
My Oilers hot takes for the coming season:
* Darnell Nurse will be the story of the 2026 playoffs — but in a good way this time
* The Oilers will trade for Evander Kane at the deadline.
* Noah Philp will be the surprise player of the year, like Podkolzin was last season. https://t.co/BRxLUP0fQq
— David Staples (@dstaples) August 24, 2025
Kane is entering the final season of the four-year, $20.5 million contract extension he originally signed with the Oilers in 2022. He spent the last four seasons in Edmonton, reestablishing himself as one of the league’s more effective power forwards after a fallout in San Jose.
Kane’s future all depends on the Canucks’ success
The thought of the Edmonton Oilers bringing Evander Kane back at next year’s trade deadline will only make sense if the Vancouver Canucks are out of the playoff picture.
After a disastrous 2024-25, Vancouver is attempting to salvage things with superstar Quinn Hughes still under contract, especially while rumors of him joining his brothers Jack and Luke in New Jersey get louder.
The Canucks made a handful of moves this summer, including retaining some of their own in Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko. They’re hoping last season was just a blip on the radar, but if things don’t turn around to start 2025-26, then flipping a pending UFA like Kane is a strong possibility and something the Oilers could be interested in.
