TALKING POINTS: Kane provides an update on his injury recovery

Oilers forward Evander Kane spoke to the media via Zoom on Friday morning to discuss undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday and his ongoing recovery from surgery in September that's kept him out of the lineup during the 2024-25 NHL season.

The 33-year-old discussed his most recent surgery, the process of recovering from his off-season procedure, his hopes of getting back into the lineup before the end of the regular season and more.

Read the full transcript & watch the full media availability with Kane below.

Kane on undergoing knee surgery on Thursday that will require a four-to-eight-week recovery:

“Yeah, I had a knee scope done yesterday. It was something that kind of popped up a few weeks after I had my abdominal surgery. It was something that I had noticed. We finally got it looked at and found that there was something that needed to be removed from my knee. It wasn't any sort of repair work or major structural work that was done, so it should be a pretty quick recovery.”

Kane on the mental side of not being able to play and his confidence level that he’ll be able to return in the regular season:

“Yeah, with regards to yesterday's surgery, to be honest, I'm not frustrated at all. I'm actually really happy that we were able to fix that and get me to 100 percent so that when I do come back and play this year, I'm feeling 100 percent. I know it might put a pause for a couple of weeks on my current rehab process, but it won't be very long. I think the number that was out there was four to eight weeks, and that’s to get back to playing after a procedure like this. So, in terms of rehabbing and training and continuing to feel better, that break is going to be very short.”

Kane on how far along he was in his rehab from abdominal surgery when the knee surgery happened and if he's been back on the ice skating yet:

“No, I haven't been on the ice yet. I think we were doing a great job with resting and letting things heal with my abdominal surgery. I think that was a big key, and it's helped me feel as good as I do today. One of the biggest reasons why is the work we were doing in the pool and some small exercises off the ice.

"Again, just letting the surgery do its thing and heal my body to the best of my ability, and that's why I feel so good today, which is really positive. It gives me something to look forward to, and this knee procedure was more of something that we could manage and get done so that it wouldn’t affect me when I did come back and then possibly have to miss the entire season. So it was great to get this cleaned up and I plan to be 100 percent and ready to go at some point this season.”

Kane on if he has a definitive timeline on when he’ll begin skating again:

“Not exactly sure. I have a timeline in my head that I'm probably not going to share today, but I don't think that timeline's changed with this surgery.”

Kane on if he’ll have to continue his rehab from abdominal surgery when he's through the four-to-eight-week recovery from this recent surgery:

“Yeah [that's correct]. So to clarify, let's say I didn't have abdominal surgery, and I just had this procedure and had been playing. That would be the timeline of when an NHL player could come back from this procedure within four to eight weeks."

“As I said a few questions ago, I anticipate taking a week or two off from the norm of what I've been doing thus far, continuing it, then getting right back into it, so I don't think it's going to slow me down or my timeline down greatly with this surgery.”

Kane on the potential challenge of getting back up to speed late in the regular season upon his eventual return:

“Yeah, well, I've dealt with injuries in the past. I've dealt with coming off the couch and joining a brand new team back in 2022, so I do have a little bit of experience with that. At the same time, I think I'll be in a much better situation coming back this time, obviously feeling 100 percent healthy and in great shape and ready to rock. So whenever that time is, I'm looking forward to being a big contributor.”

Kane on how difficult it’s been to sit out while the Oilers have enjoyed a strong first half to their season:

“It's never fun to not be playing and doing something that you've been doing for 16 years, so it's not easy to watch. At the same time, I think over the course of the summer, in the off-season, after having a devastating loss in the Stanley Cup Final last year and not being able to be a part of the end of the series, mentally, I was kind of prepared to take the time I needed to get my body back to 100 percent. And that way, when I come back, I know I can be the player that everybody knows I am.

"So from a mental aspect, that's kind of been my focus this entire time, and as much as you want to be out there playing, which I definitely do, I knew the focus and the goal was to get myself back to 100 percent so I can be the player that I know I can.”

Kane on what the biggest challenge will be in getting his game back up to NHL speed when he returns:

“Well, I think when it comes to the injury and what it affected the most last year was skating through pain. Every time you take a stride, you feel like you're tearing about four or five different things, so just walking around and being able to lift your leg off the ground six inches was a struggle last year. I could barely jog or run last year, so as I sit here today, I feel a thousand times better. I think skating will probably be the biggest indicator of how good I truly feel once I get back on the ice. As I sit here today, I feel that it’s going to go really well once I do get back on the ice.”

Kane on if he feels confident he can return to being the fast and physical player he was before his surgeries when he does get back into the lineup:

“Yeah, I've always been a believer that you're not going to score every single night, so you’ve got to impact the game in different ways that can help the team be effective each and every night. So at the same time, I think when I do come back, based on what I went through last year, I feel confident I can be the player that I know I can.”

Kane on the importance of playing regular-season games before the playoffs:

“To be honest, that time frame – if I play a handful of games or 15 games before the end of the regular season, or if I come back in the playoffs – I haven't really given much thought to that. My focus has been getting back to 100 percent. That's why I got that procedure done yesterday so that I could feel 100 percent when I got back, and there were no issues moving forward. Whenever I'm 100 percent, I will make myself available and intend to play hockey, but we're not there today. I'm not exactly sure what date that will be, but what I can promise everybody is I'm doing everything I can to make sure that's as soon as possible.”

Kane on his recovery from abdominal surgery and how he'd describe the process:

“Yeah, I kind of touched on a little bit, but that rehab's gone really well. I'm a big believer, based on some of the other procedures I've had and what I've learned over the past, in letting your body actually heal before you really get into the nitty-gritty and tough parts of rehab. I think we've done a good job of managing that line with rest and recovery and exercising, so we're going to continue to do that over the next couple of weeks and I think we’ll really start to ramp up here pretty soon.”