Evander Kane Talks Rehab, Family Amid 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Return

In the National Hockey League, there’s a difference between being ‘hurt’ and being ‘injured.’ Last season, Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane crossed that line after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“The entire regular season, I was hurt,” he said. “My injuries got progressively worse, and it was bad timing with us making it all the way and coming up short in the Cup Final.”

The Oilers lost the first three games of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, then rallied with three straight wins before falling to the Florida Panthers in a 2-1 loss in Game 7.

For Kane, the loss was as painful as the injuries.

“Probably the hardest part for me was not having an opportunity to make a difference in the most important game of your career,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever forget or really, truly get over it. The toughest part is having an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup — winner takes all. To not be able to participate and have an opportunity to make a difference when you believe you could have, to help your team win, is difficult.”

Drafted fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009, Kane was in his 15th NHL season in 2023-24. But he was in the playoffs for just the fifth time in his career, and in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. With his body being less-than-cooperative, he appeared in 20 games, putting up four goals and four assists and averaging 14:57 of ice time, before playing his last game on June 10, 2024.

In September, he had surgery to repair two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias and two torn lower abdominal muscles. Arthroscopic knee surgery followed in January.

Earlier this week, after ten and a half months, Kane marked the end of his recovery journey as he returned to the ice for the second game of the Oiler’s first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings.

“I feel, in a way, I kind of rolled the clock back a little bit in terms of getting 100 percent and getting what I got fixed, correctly,” he said.

Starting on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, Kane logged a solid 14:46 on Wednesday. He didn’t hit the score sheet as the Oilers fell 6-2 to the Kings — who were the NHL’s best team on home ice during the regular season.

Friday night, Kane is set to skate with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown as the series shifts to Edmonton (10 p.m. ET). It will be his first game on home ice since the Stars eliminated the Dallas Stars in the 2024 Western Conference Final on June 2, 2024.

And while the Kings carry a 2-0 series lead and a tsunami of positive momentum into Game 3, Los Angeles had a losing record on the road during the regular season, at 17-19-5. Edmonton was a solid 25-13-3 at Rogers Place, but went 1-1 against Los Angeles on home ice this year — winning 1-0 on Jan. 13, then losing 5-0 on Apr. 14.

Meeting in the first round for the fourth-straight year, the Oilers have prevailed in all three previous seasons. But the Kings are an improved team this year, and earned home-ice advantage by finishing four points above Edmonton in the Pacific Division standings.

The Oilers haven’t played to their potential so far in the series, especially on the defensive side of the puck. And they’ve bounced back before in similar circumstances — most memorably after Connor McDavid’s famous ‘Dig In!’ speech to his teammates during the Stanley Cup Final that was captured in Prime Video’s ‘Faceoff’ docuseries.

“We’ve obviously had a great rivalry with them since I got to the Oilers,” said Kane, who joined the team in January of 2022 and has played in all four series. “We definitely know what to expect.”

If there was a silver lining to Kane’s health issues, it was the opportunity for him to spend more time with his growing family. He and fiancée Mara Teigen share sons Hendrix, 22 months, and Iverson, who turns three in May. Kane also has a daughter, Kensington, 4, from a previous relationship.

“They actually got to spend a lot of time at the rink this year — going in early, or going in when the team’s on the road,” he said. “Just being able to be there with them when I’m laying on the table getting treatment, they’re just hanging out, maybe playing basketball on one of the many hoops we have in the training room, or sitting on the bench and watching me do some of my rehab skates. It’s been fun to be able to incorporate my kids a little bit into this entire process and spend some time with them that way.”

Kane was also able to support Teigen though her most recent pregnancy, which proved to be challenging. New baby Penelope Monroe Kane was born prematurely and spent time in the nenonatal intensive care unit following her birth on March 4. She was able to come home after 31 days, handily beating her doctors’ initial timeline of six-to-seven weeks.

“As a dad, you want to believe in your kids,” Kane said. “You want to believe that they’re strong and they’re tough, and they’re going to be able to do it.”

He also praised Teigen for her big assist through Penelope’s early days.

“She was there every single day, every single night with her, doing little things that truly help premature babies,” said Kane. “Whether it’s skin-to-skin, starting breastfeeding earlier — little things like that that really help infant babies and preemie babies progress.”

In a hockey-mad market like Edmonton, the kids are starting to recognize that their dad gets more public attention than most parents.

“They understand Daddy plays hockey. They’ve been to the games — they really enjoy it” Kane said. “But my oldest, Kensington, she’s asked questions like, ‘When we’re out at the mall or doing something for lunch, why do you always take pictures with people?’”

The kids will be on hand to cheer on their dad on Friday night. And if all goes according to plan for Evander Kane, those selfie requests will ramp up if he can help the Oilers get past the Kings and back on the road to a Stanley Cup.