Evander Kane has been traded!

The Edmonton Oilers have traded forward Evander Kane. According to Elliotte Friedman, a deal is in place to send Kane to the Vancouver Canucks.

According to different insiders, including Pierre LeBrun, there is no salary retention in the deal, and a mid-round pick would be the return coming back to Edmonton in the transaction.

Kane is entering the final year of his contract carrying a $5.125-million cap hit.

The Canucks confirmed the deal moments later.

Before everything was set in stone, Kane himself posted a heartfelt thank you to the Oilers on his X account, announcing his own trade to Vancouver:

"As my time with the @EdmontonOilers has now come to a close, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank the entire organization, my teammates, and the incredible community of Edmonton.
To the Oilers Ownership, front office, coaching staff, and trainers—thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a respected and passionate franchise. Your support meant everything, and I’ll always be grateful for the chance to compete in the blue and orange.
To my teammates—thank you for the battles, the friendships, and the memories. I’ll always remember the playoff runs, the highs and lows, and the pride of going to war with a special group of guys.
To the fans—thank you for embracing me and showing unwavering support throughout my time in Edmonton. Rogers Place was always electric, and I’m proud to have played in front of such a passionate hockey city. My family and I have built some incredible relationships that will last forever.
With that said, I’m incredibly excited for the next chapter of my career as I join the @Canucks. It’s an honor to become part of an organization and team I grew up watching as a kid. Vancouver is a city that lives and breathes hockey, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play in front of my hometown as I did many years ago as a Vancouver Giant.
With appreciation,
Evander Kane"

Per LeBrun, " Kane has been traded to Vancouver, his agent Dan Milstein confirms, but he says Canucks/Oilers still waiting on official trade call with the league. Three teams were interested, Milstein says. Kane goes back home to Vancouver which was the player's preference."

In the postseason, after a full year out of action, Kane did not return as a quality player and posted six goals and 12 points in 21 games. He had played through injury most of last season, and still led the Oilers in hits while scoring 24 goals. Completely different story this postseason...

However, the Oilers are probably making room on their cap space ahead of a busy offseason with what was less than $12 million in cap space available before the Kane deal and the focus is on re-signing Evan Bouchard to a massive extension.

In addition to the reported Trent Frederic max-term extension, forwards Connor Brown, Jeff Skinner, Kasperi Kapanen and Corey Perry, and defenseman John Klingberg also being eligible to become unrestricted free agents July 1.

Make room and Kane is the one getting moved.