Edmonton Oilers jersey.

The 34-year-old power forward, now with the Vancouver Canucks, was dealt this summer in a salary-shedding move, yet rumblings suggest he might find his way back to Edmonton before season’s end.

“I know what hockey means in this city, and I know what the Canucks mean to the people here.”

Vancouver-born Evander Kane speaks on how Canucks fans might embrace him following his trade from the Oilers pic.twitter.com/FUG4CLgCbm

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 26, 2025

Analyst Proposes Shocking Trade Oilers Should Make 

Kane’s 2024-25 campaign was derailed by surgeries that kept him out of the regular season, though he returned to post 12 points in 21 playoff games. Staples believes Edmonton could swing a deadline deal to reacquire him, but there’s one major obstacle: NHL rules prevent Vancouver from retaining salary on Kane’s $5.125M cap hit since he was just traded away. 

That means Edmonton would need to take on his full contract or involve a third team to make the numbers work.

Evander Kane pulled up in style 🤩

📺 Oilers-Stars at 8 PM ET on ESPN/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/S09z7UgbeA

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2025

Whether the Oilers revisit Kane ultimately depends on Vancouver’s fate. If the Canucks are out of the playoff mix, they may look to flip Kane as a rental before he hits free agency in July. Still, it would be a wild move to see the Oilers reacquire Kane midseason, less than a year after trading him away.

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images