Evander Kane breaks his silence on injury and playoff availability for Oilers

There's been some reports that Kane will not take a conditioning stint in the AHL, which is his right, but also would signal he's 100% ready for Game 1.

Kane spoke to the media today, and seemed to hint that he's feeling 100% ready to play for Game 1. He pointed to the fact that last season he played through the entire playoffs injured, and he's feeling much better relatively.

Kane also said that a conditioning stint in the AHL was never discussed, after some suggestion that he may have refused an assignment from the Oilers. The final opportunity for him to get games in will be this week.

It's great to hear that Kane is feeling ready to go for Game 1, but the final call will come from being cleared by the team doctors. On that front, Coach Knoblauch is optimistic that Kane will actually be cleared to play.

The NHL may not be too happy with Evander Kane returning for Game 1 of the playoffs after the Oilers spent his salary in trades at the deadline, and he could've possibly returned earlier.

However, Kane's injury situation was so complex this season that it would've been impossible to predict an exact return, and planning for a return in the final games would've been extremely difficult. The Oilers handled the situation completely legitimately.

For the playoffs, adding a healthy Evander Kane could be an X-Factor for the Oilers. If he can bring his best game, with a physical presence and depth scoring, he'll make the Oilers forward group incredibly deep and efficient - and impossible to match up against in the playoffs.