Evander Kane: Capitalizing on His Last Second Chance
Evander Kane during an NHL game. | Photo courtesy of Youtube.
He’s been the talk of the NHL for the past month. He’s arguably one of the most hated players in the league for his troubled past and tendency to rack up frustrating penalties. Evander Kane, former first round pick and San Jose Sharks star left wing, has had more than his fair share of controversy in his history. Earlier this year, he was suspended 21 games for forging and falsifying a vaccine card.
This action lost him his job, forcing the Sharks to place him on waivers. Despite the two’s semi-successful journey together, the Sharks terminated the remainder of his seven year, $49 million contract.
In most recent news, he signed a one year contract with the Edmonton Oilers last week, adding to their strong squad who are preparing for a Stanley Cup run. Kane has already been slotted into the third line, scoring in his debut just a few days ago. It is no doubt that Kane is a quality player, having posted several 25+ goal seasons. The issue is not his skating or hockey IQ, but rather his past which has limited options for him in the future.
In 2009, Kane was drafted fourth overall by former NHL team, Atlanta Thrashers. Two years later, the team went defunct and merged into what’s now the Winnipeg Jets. Kane stayed on the Jets until 2015, being traded to the Buffalo Sabres and posted just two underwhelming seasons there. In the tail end of his second season with the Sabres, Kane broke three ribs due to a collision with Alexei Emelin, eventually leaving him out for over a season of play.
Kane was forced to be away from the game due to a long recovery, being traded to the Sharks where he revamped his career in several ways. Posting some of his best years, Kane put up 103 points in two years but also tallied the most penalty minutes he’s had in back to back seasons with a PIM of 275 according to the NHL stats.
This is the Evander Kane of the news: the Kane who gets into fights and gets ejected for “dirty hits” or “cheap shots.” Not to mention, he also has a bad history of gambling and losing money. In 2019, at the Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas, Kane managed to lose over 500k in one sitting, getting himself thrown out and later finding himself in a lawsuit with the casino.
Kane’s poor financial history, on top of his gambling troubles, racked up an impressive total of $27 million in debt. His financial issues forced him to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021 in California. In his debt estimate by a Los Angeles Court, it was reported that Kane still had around $1.5 million still withstanding in gambling debts.
Kane also just went through a nasty divorce which took aim at him personally and his reputation. Amidst all the legal discussion and financial negotiations, his former wife, Anna, alleged several different accusations with Kane towards the NHL and a local court, including: assault, harassment and game-fixing .
After months of investigation by the NHL and a legal team, they found the claims were personally targeted and cleared Kane, passing the NHL’s standards and protocols. Since then, Kane has been issued a restraining order on Anna and in the divorce settlement, a California court granted sole custody of their daughter to Kane, acknowledging he is a better fit to parent their child.
Anna alleged Kane assaulted her on several different occasions but many were debunked. In one instance she posted a story with a video of him holding a pistol towards her, when in fact the pistol was a prop gun and was a part of a professional photoshoot the two were doing for a magazine, which was clarified in the divorce settlement. She also claimed that Kane was game-fixing – intentionally winning or throwing games – for personal financial troubles, covering past losses with bookies. However, this was never proven by the NHL and the investigation on Kane was dropped. There was no evidence that gambling occurred against his past teams.
After being on waivers for three straight weeks this January and no bites, Kane was finally picked up by a team. Most teams passed up on the opportunity as Kane has been pinned as someone who gets too many penalty minutes and adds a poor locker room presence. However, since signing with the Oilers, Kane has already shown well in his first three appearances, netting two goals and assisting one. Could we see a Kane we haven’t seen before? Despite being drafted fourth overall, his career has not been written the way many sports writers and hockey fans would’ve expected 13 years ago.
Evander Kane has been given several chances to prove himself as a bonafide player in the NHL, yet he’s come short on many occasions. Now, with a new team and life set out for him, he has the opportunity to silence many people with quality performances, already having made an immediate impact for the Oiler since signing with them.
With three points, 15 hits and an average ice time of 17:30, Kane needs to keep these numbers into the playoffs in order to improve on last season after the Oilers were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
Even though Kane has a troubled past and has gone through several aggravating off-ice issues and personal dilemmas, he’s ensured he wants to continue his career in the NHL and improve upon it. While he’s made many mistakes, including gambling contract money and faking a COVID-19 vaccine card, Kane wants to set the record straight this year with a fresh start on a new team.
This chance with the Oilers is most likely his last chance in the NHL. It was clear no other team wanted him, as he spent many weeks on waivers and even played five games for the Sharks AHL team, the San Jose Barracudas. As for now, the Oilers led by offensive giants, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are playing with a vengeance, hoping to prove themselves as the team to beat come May.