The NHL sure seems to love letting things slide until the Edmonton Oilers are involved in it.

That appears to be the case once again when it comes to the Oilers utilizing the Long-Term Injured Reserve, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who reported the team and Evander Kane were scrutinized by the league.

So much so, Friedman believes it’s one of the reasons Kane wasn’t in the lineup for Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings.

“This is going to lead to a lot of questions about Evander Kane’s availability, and can he be a factor in this series,” Friedman said. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we see him in Game 2.

“I’ve heard the NHL really scrutinized a number of teams late in the regular season and they wanted detailed explanations of why some players couldn’t play Game 82, and then could be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs. I think Kane was one of those players. I don’t think he was the only one around the NHL, but I think he was one of the players scrutinized, and I do think it’s possible that’s why he’s not playing Game 1.”

Teams have been doing this for years now where they’re stashing injured players on LTIR, allowing them the chance to utilize the extra cap space. Teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning notably did it with Nikita Kucherov, while fans have been up in arms about the Vegas Golden Knights doing the same with Mark Stone.

Other playoff teams dipped into LTIR heading into the playoffs, too. The Colorado Avalanche, most notably, have had Gabriel Landeskog there for years as he makes his comeback to the professional game after various knee surgeries. The Dallas Stars have had Miro Heiskanen stashed since he suffered a knee injury earlier this year, while the Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk has been out since the 4-Nations Face-Off.

The Panthers kick off their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night, so it will be curious to see the status of Tkachuk for Game 1.

Kane, of course, had dealt with a myriad of issues all season long, undergoing abdominal surgery in September to fix both both hip abductors, two torn lower abdominal muscles and two hernias. He also underwent a minor knee surgery in January.

Game 2 between the Oilers and Kings goes Wednesday night.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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