Evander Kane to return to Oilers lineup against Kraken, Kailer Yamamoto placed on LTIR

Evander Kane to return to Oilers lineup against Kraken, Kailer Yamamoto placed on LTIR

Evander Kane is back.

As has been speculated for the past few days, Kane will suit up for the Edmonton Oilers when they host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. With the corresponding move, the Oilers will place Kyler Yamamoto on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 11, according to Frank Serravalli.

Evander Kane is expected to return tonight for the #Oilers , first game since suffering a gruesome skate cut on Nov. 8.

Expect #Oilers to place Kailer Yamomoto on LTIR retroactive to Jan 11th. He will be eligible to return after the #NHLAllStar break. @DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 17, 2023

This will be Kane’s first game since Nov. 8, when he suffered a gruesome cut on his wrist in a game against the Lightning in Tampa Bay. Kane was rushed to Tampa General Hospital and eventually underwent surgery to repair the damage to his wrist.

After the surgery, Kane was expected to need three to four months of recovery time before he was ready to play again. Kane’s return in mid-January is significantly faster than expected, as even the most optimistic timetable for his return when the injury occurred was that he would join the team after the All-Star break in February.

Kane has appeared in 14 games for the Oilers this season and has five goals and 13 points. Last season, he scored 22 goals and 39 points in 43 games for the Oilers after signing with the team midseason and added 13 goals and 17 points in the playoffs.

In order for the Oilers to hit the salary cap once Kane is back on the roster, the team will move Kyler Yamamoto to long-term injured reserve. While Yamamoto is on LTIR, the Oilers won’t have to put one of their salary-cap hitters at $1.25 million or more on release. Such a move may be necessary when Yamamoto is ready to return, but that won’t be until after the All-Star break.

Yamamoto last played for the Oilers in their 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks last week, but did not perform well for their games against the San Jose Sharks or Vegas Golden Knights. In 31 games this season, Yamamoto has four goals and 12 points.