NHL insider speculates Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl went to Corey Perry for ‘help with’ Evander Kane

My theory is that the Oilers know if they’re going to be successful in the playoffs, they need Evander Kane. And they don’t just need him to be moderately engaged. They need big pain in the a-- Evander Kane. They need top four checker in the league Evander Kane. And I think they’ve just decided that they are going to ride him until he gets there. It’s going to be tough love and it’s not going to be the coach who’s going to do it, it’s going to be the players who are going to do it. And they are saying, “If we want to win the Stanley Cup this year, we need a great Evander Kane and we are taking the responsibility of making sure he gets there.” Because one thing about [Kevin Bieksa] he said is that Perry doesn’t do that a lot. So my theory, and I got a lot of theories, but my theory is McDavid and Draisaitl have gone to Perry and said, “We need your help with this because you, in addition to us, you also have the gravitas as a veteran player to go to him.”

The idea that Connor McDavid and Draisaitl have decided that the best course of action to get Kane in the right frame of mind is a bit of tough love does seem to make some sense since these two incidents have occurred in the latter stages of the season. At the same time, it is quite surprising that the Oilers are resorting to this method.

There is no doubt that Kane is a critical component of Edmonton’s success when he is on his game as evidenced by his dominant showing in the 2022 playoffs and the first round last year against the Kings. But when he is not on his game and struggling to play with the intensity and forecheck required to make their offence even deadlier, it puts more pressure on the top guns to produce. It thus makes it easier for the opposition to neutralize them and thus make the Oilers less imposing to have to defend. Therefore it is fair to assume that Kane is going to be a big X-factor for the team in these playoffs cause how he does will determine how far they go.

Friedman also brought up a point that Bieksa brought up during Hockey Night in Canada regarding Perry not typically being the type of person to argue on the bench with a teammate. He would know better than most given the former NHLer spent three seasons of his career with the Ducks. It does not definitively prove that what Friedman is suggesting is going on to be correct, but it certainly helps add fuel to the fire that perhaps there is something there.

Getting Kane going is certainly an area of importance for the Oilers and it would make sense if they are doing it in the way Friedman speculated. Simultaneously, we won’t truly know what goes on behind the scenes because what the camera shows and the pressers are only part of the story. So unless the players go out and say it themselves or continue to scream at Kane, then this theory is exactly that.

Either way, it is an intriguing idea and one that certainly carries a lot of weight given it comes from the league’s most trusted insider. There is no telling what comes next for the Kane saga but this added another wrinkle to it.