Did the NHL Force Evander Kane to Sit Out Game 1? Friedman's Latest Report Raises Big Questions

For the past few seasons, we've seen examples from both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights of the teams circumventing the NHL's salary cap by placing a player on LTIR and using that cap space, only to bring them back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

We almost saw this twice already in 2025, but neither Evander Kane nor Gabriel Landeskog have officially taken the ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and according to Elliotte Friedman, that may be for a reason.

During the Oilers vs. Kings game, Friedman explained that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman scrutinized teams late in the season that appeared to be doing that, with Matthew Tkachuk another potential player to be held out in Game One as a result.

Friedman didn't make clear if Bettman was looking to sanction any teams that returned a player in Game One of their Stanley Cup Playoffs series, nor did he reveal whether it would be discussed as a change in the upcoming CBA negotiations, but at this point, one has to assume that it will.

Now that both Edmonton and Colorado have played, it's expected that both Landeskog and Kane will return at some point during their round one series, although it's not confirmed that this was the reason both are yet to debut in 2025.

Ultimately, this is a change that's been a long time coming for the NHL, as fans have complained for years about how Vegas have continually done this, and while this doesn't confirm those changes are coming, we now at least know that Bettman is aware of the criticism around this situation.