On the End of the Evander Kane Era in San Jose: “Same story, different city.”

Check out my “Sharks Pregame Live” hit!

Sheng Peng: Both the San Jose Sharks and Evander Kane are downplaying the emotional significance of Kane’s return to San Jose, just a month after the Sharks terminated his contract, instead focusing on the importance of tonight’s game on the playoff race.

Logan Couture said of heightened emotions tonight, “Same as we’d be against another divisional team.”

Evander Kane said today, “The coaches asked me yesterday, and I really haven’t given much thought to it.”

I don’t believe them, but what I do believe is to expect fireworks if the game gets one-sided either way.

Including the playoffs, Evander Kane has seven game misconducts in his career. Going back to his days in Winnipeg, six of the seven have occurred when his team was getting routed.

Kane is definitely not a player who’s afraid of settling a score or firing up an opposing arena.

So how would I sum up the end of the Evander Kane era in San Jose?

Same story, different city.

Hockey people — on and off the record — have been saying, since Evander Kane was a teenager in Atlanta, that he isn’t a good teammate.

In 2015, I talked with Mike Stothers, now Anaheim Ducks assistant coach, then an Atlanta assistant coach. He said, and I quote, “Soon as he learns to become a good teammate, I think the world’s going to be his oyster.”

What happened in Winnipeg and Buffalo are well-documented, but if you haven’t read about it, look up “Dustin Byfuglien tracksuit” and “Fight with Justin Falk.”

Yesterday at San Jose Hockey Now, an ex-Sharks teammate told me, “He wasn’t a good teammate…He’s the type of guy who didn’t really want to do what he was asked to do.”

Same story, different city.

Evander Kane is 30 and his teammates, his co-workers are saying the same thing about him now that they did when he was 18.