June 25th, 2025
Alex Rickman
Well, I don’t think any of us saw that one coming.
On Wednesday morning, Patrik Allvin announced that the Canucks had acquired forward Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2025 4th round pick. Kane, 6’2 and 218 pounds, is coming off a regular season in which he did not play, but posted 12 points across 21 appearances in the postseason. He will also be entering the final year of his deal, and will make $5.125 million as a Canuck next season.
This has not been a popular move in the hours following its announcement. While Kane can be an effective player on his day, he is far from a popular figure in the NHL. Despite his talents, Kane’s NHL career has been plagued with off-ice issues, raising questions about the effect he could have on an already unsteady Canucks locker room. On top of this, Kane is 33 years old, and doesn’t exactly fit the age profile the Canucks should be targeting. Concerns over Kane’s age would be lesser if Vancouver had already brought in some young talent this offseason, but with this being the first move of the Canucks offseason, alarm bells are ringing in the heads of fans.
So what tempted the Canucks to make this move? Firstly, the price for a player who can produce at the rate of Kane would have been tempting to a team looking to majorly overhaul their forward core with limited resources at their disposal. Unfortunately, Kane was available for such a low price because of the Oilers' desperate need for cap space. In acquiring Evander Kane, the Canucks have directly helped a division rival solve one of their biggest problems and gear up to make important moves this offseason.
Kane’s style of play could also be a helpful addition for a Canucks team that spent too much time getting pushed around last season. As a power forward, Kane gives the Canucks an option they simply lacked last year after parting with JT Miller who can bring a physical element to the top six. However, you still have to wonder if there weren’t other ways to add this player, either through a trade for an option like Alex Tuch, albeit for a much higher price than it took for Kane, or a free agent signing like Anthony Mantha.
In a vacuum, a move for a 20-goal scoring power forward making $5.125 million costing a fourth is not something I’d be upset with. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a vacuum. This is a move that reeks of desperation and a lack of thought towards the state of the dressing room. Adding Evander Kane is not a move that significantly improves the Canucks on ice stocks, has the potential to worsen the state of a room in disrepair, and feels like a slap in the face to a fanbase who have not been regarded by this franchise for a very long time. I hope to be proven wrong, but right now, this feels like a disaster for the Canucks.
This is just the first move of what should be a very big offseason for Vancouver, so there is time to make up for it, but this is not the way anyone would have liked to see the Canucks get the ball rolling. The Canucks need to find a way to add a young talent soon, otherwise things could get ugly fast.