BLOG: Kane comes back to Edmonton to win

EDMONTON, AB - A late-night tweet by Evander Kane let Oil Country know the good news.
The Oilers officially inked the sniper to a
four-year extension on Wednesday
, bringing the NHL Playoff's leading goal scorer back into the fold for the foreseeable future. The biggest factor in Kane's willingness to put pen to paper was his desire to win.
"This is the first real chance where I've been free to choose where I want to play," Kane said about the deal. "The guys, and the team, and the organization just seem to fit really well together. I've been a winning player my entire career up until I went to the NHL and I want to make sure I accomplish that goal. I believe I can do that in Edmonton."
Kane was a revelation when he joined the Oilers back on January 27, scoring 37 goals in 58 games over the course of the regular season and playoffs. His mix of offensive acumen and physical dynamism was a perfect match for an Oilers team that needed a spark mid-way through the season.
"Everybody in that locker room wanted him back and made that very clear to me," Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Ken Holland said. "They felt we were a much better team with Evander on our team."

"He's around a 25-30 goal scorer before he got here, he found tremendous chemistry with Connor and Leon and was on pace for 45 goals with us," Holland added. "He brings an edge to his game, some personality and physicality. It's not only the ability to score goals, the other dimensions that he brings to our team are also very valuable. I wanted to find a solution that appealed to Evander, and I was comfortable with a four-year contract."
There is a reason why Holland was comfortable with the contract Kane would end up signing.
After a quick look at the deals that were signed at the opening of NHL Free Agency, it's hard to say the Oilers ended up with anything but a bargain. Kane's AAV was less than what unrestricted free agents Andre Burakovsky, Claude Giroux, Andrew Copp, and Vincent Trocheck were inked for -- and comparable to contracts signed by Ilya Mikheyev, Rikard Rakell, Mason Marchment, David Perron, and Artturi Lehkonen.
The argument can be made that Kane is the best goal scorer of the bunch, but his decision to potentially leave dollars on the table was admittedly by design.
"I want to win, and in order to win, you need to have more than one or two players," Kane said. "I think this gives our group the best opportunity to be able to put more pieces in place to give us the best shot to be successful. I was willing to definitely take less than what I believe and what I've shown (to be worth)."

With the addition of Kane, the Oilers now find themselves with a solid core around two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The chance to play in one of the best buildings in the league, alongside two of the league's best players has always been an incentive for players to come to Edmonton. Now, after a trip to the Western Conference Final, a shot at hockey's holy grail adds another feather in the Oilers cap when it comes to luring in players of Kane's ilk.
"When players come here they find that it's a fabulous place to play," Holland said. "There is tremendous passion, but most importantly you want to win and I think that having the core that we have has certainly got people around the league wanting to come here and join them."
Now that the Oilers have secured Kane as a part of their core, the Stanley Cup is the next step goal for an Oilers core which found themselves among the final four teams in the NHL last season. Kane was asked in Wednesday's press conference how long he expects the Oilers Stanley Cup window to last.
"Hopefully it's the length of my contract here," he joked.