'The rumour mill is for me': Kane pokes fun at reporters, laughs off Oilers trade speculation

Evander Kane had a laugh and delivered a sarcastic response Wednesday when asked about rumours that his Edmonton Oilers may make a big splash before the NHL's trade deadline.

General Manager Ken Holland told TSN 1260's Jason Gregor on Monday that he is "working the phones" to improve his team before the Mar. 3 cutoff.

Hockey insiders have linked Edmonton to star defensemen Erik Karlsson and Jakob Chychrun.

"I absorb it. I follow each and every one of your guy's Twitter accounts and like to stay up to date on the activity that's going on. The rumour mill is for me and I really enjoy it," Kane said with a big smile Wednesday.

"I'm real excited about some of the players that are coming to this team, according to you guys."

The Oilers were three points behind Pacific Division leaders Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Holland said he wants to improve the roster ahead of the playoffs but acknowledged he will also have to move players out to make trades salary-cap compliant.

"I've heard so many things. I've been part of so many rumours and a lot of them are bulls***," Kane told reporters.

"There's always going to be rumours just created for entertainment, right? I mean, you guys have shows. There's things that need to be talked about, you know, we gotta fill time. There's lots of things that come with it. At the same time I'm sure there's going to be a ton of [player] movement."

"I think we’ve been playing some really good hockey."

Evander Kane discusses the #Oilers play recently & trade deadline speculation after morning skate at @RogersPlace. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Ggy80hQfXz

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 15, 2023

Captain Connor McDavid said the players just need to stay focused on winning games.

While the team has a chance to win its first division title in 36 years, the Oilers are also just four points from falling out of a playoff spot in a very tight Western Conference.

"To be honest [trade talk] never really gets in [the locker room]. I know there's lots of noise out there, but guys never really talk too much about it in here," McDavid told reporters.

"I'm sure it's hard for guys to not think about it, but at the end of the day we all have a job to do and we're here to win games. And the GM is going to do what he's gonna do and it's just part of the business."

McDavid, who leads the NHL in both goals and points, was asked to define what "all-in" to win a Stanley Cup means to him.

"Thankfully, that's not my job to define that. Kenny [Holland] gets paid a lot of money to do his job and that's something that him and his staff have to figure out. My job is to play and lead our group," he said.

Head coach Jay Woodcroft has stressed all season that his players focus on the task at hand. In this case it's a Wednesday rematch against the Detroit Red Wings, who the Oilers beat 5-2 last Tuesday.

"We don't spend a lot of time within the confines of our dressing room talking a lot about [trades]," he said.

"All that said, people are human beings and they're aware of certain things. I think where we want to put our emphasis and our import is on making sure that we're prepared to take care of that day's business."

Both Kane and Leon Draisaitl missed practice Tuesday but are expected to play against Detroit and Klim Kostin is questionable, according to Gregor.

The Oilers (30-19-5) faceoff against the Red Wings (24-20-8) at Rogers Place shortly after 7:30 p.m. MT.