Evander Kane faces a long road to recovery from a significant surgery conducted Friday in which the bruising winger had two sports hernias and four muscle tears repaired.

The Oilers knew Kane would be on the shelf for much of this season, navigating their salary cap to keep his $5.125-millon cap hit on the roster so the team can accrue cap space as the season progresses. In the days since he went under the knife, reports have surfaced about what his potential recovery time could look like.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Sunday that Kane was looking at a timetable that would keep him out of the lineup until January or February. Postmedia’s Jim Matheson said Monday the “early feeling is Evander Kane will be out 4 to 6 months.” That timeline would push a potential return past the March 7th trade deadline.

The Oilers will no doubt look to continue to add towards the deadline, and with their current salary cap situation, they could accrue up to $4.4-million in space, according to PuckPedia. In the scenario where Kane’s recovery takes longer, and he can’t return during the regular season, he could be placed on the long-term injured reserve, allowing the team to add $5.125-million in cap space.

Another wrinkle in this is Kane’s contract situation as a whole. This season marks his third of a four-year deal signed in the summer of 2022, one that carried a full no-movement clause through the first two seasons. However, on February 28th, 2025, that will be adjusted to a 16-team approved trade list, according to PuckPedia.

There’s no telling what the team could look like come next March ahead of the deadline, but the team adding Vasily Podkolzin helps offset some of the size and crunch that Kane brought to the lineup.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.