Oilers Left Evander Kane Benched After Problems with Draisaitl

Set to start today at 6:00 p.m. EST, the game between the two Canadian teams will feature one fewer regular Oiler left-winger for persisting issues with his teammate, Leon Draisaitl. Evander Kane will remain on the bench for a supposed maintenance day and will have his role covered by Derek Ryan

Despite joining the Oilers after leaving San Jose in early 2022, Kane still has yet to fit in with the team. He was one of the stronger players in the league, but has an apparent inability to gel with other team members, especially those with more success than him.

Last night, during the game between Edmonton and Toronto, he proved this to be the case once again. Though the stakes were high and the team was struggling to catch up, Kane got into a heated argument with Draisaitl at the bench. This was undoubtedly the altercation that forced team leadership to make this decision.



While this is unlikely to be the end of the struggle between Evander Kane and the rest of the Oilers, it is obvious he cares about the game. Hopefully this time off the ice will help him figure out how to be more of a team player.