Scary Situation

Let me start this article by saying that I don't think Evander Kane and I would ever be friends. I can separate Kane on the ice as a hockey player and Kane off the ice as a person pretty easily, and I'll give the man credit in that he's been an effective scoring threat since arriving in the City of Champions. Do I still question his behaviour off the ice? Sure, and it's hard not to with the mountain of insanity he's compiled since arriving in the NHL. Tonight, though, is one of those things where the safety of the person matters more than what I think of him, and this is me saying I'm glad to hear that things are going to be fine for Evander Kane moving forward.

The Oilers were in Tampa to play the Lightning tonight, and things were rolling along in this game during the second period before Kane got tangled up with Lightning defenceman Philippe Myers and fell to the ice. That's when things got scary for everyone in the arena.
The video, posted by Brady Trettenero, shows Patrick Maroon's skate make contact with Kane's arm as he enters the picture from the left. What you can't see from the angle of the TNT camera is Kane's sleeve riding up where Maroon's skate blade makes contact with his skin. As we know, hockey players like their blades sharp, and Maroon's blades evidently were as Kane left the ice yelling for help as blood dripped from his wrist and forearm area.

Kudos go out to the Edmonton Oilers' trainers and staff as they reportedly were able to secure the wound well enough that Kane could be transported to a Tampa Bay hospital for better treatment. I'm sure the Lightning probably have an in-house doctor at most games too, so I want to give him or her a stick-tap as well because this could have gone much worse had Maroon's blade nicked any major veins or arteries in his arm. According to reports, Maroon was signaling for a medic as he saw Kane was in distress, so let's give Patrick Maroon a little credit for putting the game aside to help a fellow player in this situation.

The Oilers gave an update as the game progressed, and it seems like Kane got some top-notch medical assistance to prevent catastrophe.

After suffering a wrist injury early in the second period, Evander Kane is stable and has been transported to hospital for a procedure later this evening.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 9, 2022

Look, I may not like his behaviour off the ice, but no one wants to see Evander Kane seriously injured for any reason. The guy is still a human being who has people that care for him, and I can put aside any disapproval of his behaviour to ensure that he's ok after a potentially-horrific injury. Thankfully, it was not horrific, and I'm hoping Kane will be back with the Oilers soon so he can help them in their quest for the Stanley Cup.

Not that it mattered to me in the aftermath of what happened in the second period to Kane, but the Edmonton Oilers did eventually win the game 3-2 over the Lightning. I don't think it's much of a reach, though, to say that everyone had Evander Kane's health on their minds following the game, and I was one of those people as well.

He'll never see this because he has me blocked on social media, but I do want to wish Evander Kane a speedy recovery from what looked like a very scary injury when it initially happened. The staff at the arena and on the bench deserve a ton of credit for making sure that Kane's health wasn't put in serious risk, but it might be time for the NHL to start looking at the kevlar cut-resistant products for its players to prevent serious skate blade injuries from being much worse. When you think of the injuries suffered by Clint Malarchuk and Richard Zednik, this seems like a no-brainer.

It's just good to hear that the worst Evander Kane may have to deal with regarding this injury is a scar. It could have been so much worse.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!