In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Edmonton Oilers revealed that Evander Kane had a separate surgery that will delay his rehab by 4-8 weeks. Kane also confirmed the injury news and spoke with Edmonton media about how this will affect his comeback timeline. What does that mean for the team’s regular season and trade deadline plans? Meanwhile, a report from a show host in Boston suggests there are serious off-ice issues between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. What does that mean for the Bruins? Finally, one insider has addressed speculation about a Dylan Cozens trade and discussed whether the Toronto Maple Leafs might wind up being among the teams looking.
Evander Kane Updates His Injury Situation
Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane met with media on Friday and confirmed he had a knee scope done on Thursday and that while he still intends to play this season, the injury update will set him back another 4-8 weeks. He says he’s not frustrated by the “setback” but positive about the future because it means he’ll be 100% when he does return.
Related: NHL Projected Lineups, Starting Goalies, Injuries, Updates
While there was a little fuzziness around what his timeline will be, he didn’t rule out the possibility that he’s back on the ice sometime before the playoffs. The feeling however, seems to be that it’s leaning more toward looking like the Oilers might be thinking of keeping him out for the remainder of the regular season. This is still speculation at this point, but if he does remain out, it could drastically change what the Oilers do at the trade deadline. Kane has a $5.125 cap hit that won’t be deemed a penalty if Kane returns only for the postseason.
He says he didn’t want to share his timeline for getting back on the ice for the Oilers. That said, he didn’t think this would delay him too much.
Bruins Off-Ice Issues Popping Up?
Rich Keefe of the Jones & Keefe Show called the Boston Bruins a “disaster” off of the ice. Suggesting he had a that there were fairly serious issues between David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, he reported Pastrnak is refusing to play on the same line with the Bruins’ captain.
However, when asked by media on Friday, Pastrnak responded, “I’ve never in my life said I don’t want to play with this guy to the coaching staff or management and I never would. I love playing with Marchy. I’ve been playing with him for so long.”
The team hasn’t addressed this report, but if it is accurate, it could spell issues for the team. It’s not clear if Pastrnak is upset to the point that he’s rethinking his role on the team, but the hosts suggested this all stemmed from Marchand calling out Pastrnak for some selfish and lazy play.
Maple Leafs Not Among Teams Looking at Dylan Cozens
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli recently mentioned during a discussion about teams looking at Dylan Cozens, that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not involved in trade talks with the Buffalo Sabres. They aren’t expected to join the conversation either.
Despite the potential Cozens has and his history as a 30-goal scorer, Seravalli suggested there is too much uncertainty tied to too big a salary for the Leafs to make a trade like that. He explained, “You can’t get a $7.1 million guy ahead of the deadline without sacrificing something significant,” Seravalli noted. He added, “You couldn’t stand the risk if you’re Toronto of what happens if he is just a 20-goal, 45-point player.”
The Leafs are not in a situation where they are willing to give up a significant piece for anything less than a guarantee. And, while there really are no guarantees, there are real questions about whether Cozens will ever get back to the level of production he had before signing his big extension with the Sabres.