Vancouver reportedly made a surprising call to Edmonton regarding Evander Kane, aiming to send the ex-Oiler back to his former team at a discount.
According to Vancouver Canucks' analyst Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks are trying to offload Evander Kane. He's heard from a couple of his sources that Vancouver reportedly called the Edmonton Oilers while shopping the winger.
While a guest on the Halford and Brough Show, Dhaliwal stated that he hasn't personally confirmed the report's accuracy, but has heard that the Canucks have reached out to the Oilers to ask whether they have an interest in bringing back the ex-winger, likely at a discounted price.
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The Canucks are offloading veterans. As a pending UFA, Kane arguably hasn't been a fit and has no future in Vancouver. However, Kane did have some success with the Oilers, once leading their team in playoff scoring.
The Oilers traded Kane to Vancouver in the offseason to dump his salary and contract and gain some cap flexibility. They were going in a different direction, and he waived his no-trade to make the deal possible. At the time, he said he loved Edmonton and hinted that he would be open to playing there again one day. However, if the Oilers were to consider bringing Kane back -- someone with grit and a history of production when healthy -- they would likely only do so if salary is retained or Vancouver takes back money.
At first glance, someone like Andrew Mangiapane at $3.6 million, going back to Vancouver for Kane at a $1.52 million salary discount, would make the deal work financially for the Oilers.
** Update: It should be clarfied that the Canucks cannot directly retain the salary in a trade back to Edmonton. That retention would have to come from another team.
He said, "One team told me, have fun moving him." He also said that with a no-move clause, Kane has the right to shoot down any trade.
Dhaliwal said that teams are much more interested in Kiefer Sherwood. The Oilers would certainly rather have Sherwood than Kane. However, the Canucks will get a great return for Sherwood, and Mangiapane won't get it done.
He believes that the Kane ship has sailed in Edmonton. They aren't interested in going there as they've been there and done that.
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