Sheng’s Daily: Evander Kane Blasts NHL’s Response to Jacob Blake

Remember when the NHL docked the Coyotes a first-round pick three weeks ago?

[Checks timestamp on press release]

Holy shit it's been a day…

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 27, 2020

You said it, Greg.

The morning began with Logan Couture tweeting about an incident Tuesday night. Couture reported that he was punched for expressing public support for the Republican Party and mentioning Donald Trump.

Here’s the full run-down of the San Jose Sharks captain’s day, from original tweet to eventual apology.

Logan Couture Was Punched for Supporting GOP, Mentioning Donald Trump

In other San Jose Sharks news…

Meanwhile, Evander Kane scorched the NHL for their “lack of action and acknowledgement” of the Jacob Blake shooting.

Wow. This Black man was shot several times in the back by @KenoshaPolice today. He was getting into his car after apparently breaking up a fight between two women. He’s in critical condition now. We demand JUSTICE! #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/I1reDEp4nw

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020

Actually it’s incredibly insulting as a black man in hockey the lack of action and acknowledgement from the @nhl, just straight up insulting. https://t.co/1KrpUvFhaQ

— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) August 27, 2020

He also spoke earlier in the day to David Amber of Sportsnet:

"It's not just my responsibility as a minority player in the NHL to be talking about these issues… We need to be better."@evanderkane_9 joined @DavidAmber to discuss how the NHL can do more to support the Black Lives Matter movement. pic.twitter.com/wKFqxS0hav

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 26, 2020

Around the NHL…

In the afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to protest the Blake shooting by sitting out their scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic.

The Bucks players made this strike statement:

The Milwaukee Bucks statement: pic.twitter.com/F7XOPs4NqE

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 26, 2020

Shortly thereafter, the NBA postponed the rest of their day’s contests.

Matt Dumba was among the handful of NHL’ers — along with Kane — to stand in solidarity with their fellow athletes:

Major statement by the NBA players 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽 I’m with it!

— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) August 26, 2020

NBA Players leading! ✊🏾WE STAND WITH YOU AND DEMAND CHANGE! @TheOfficialHDA

— Matt Dumba (@matt_dumba) August 26, 2020

Unlike the NBA, MLB, MLS, and WNBA however, every NHL game was played as scheduled yesterday.

Both Dumba and Kane spoke with Sportsnet to express their disappointment with the NHL’s lack of action.

Fellow Hockey Diversity Alliance founder Akim Aliu also chimed in:

Amazing statement of solidarity for the black community by @nba @wnba and @mlb players!!!…. @nhl where you at?… tick tock….

— Akim Aliu (@Dreamer_Aliu78) August 26, 2020

Even ex-San Jose Sharks goaltender turned Sportsnet commentator Kelly Hrudey thought the NHL should postpone their games.

"I don't think we should be here. I think the NHL should postpone the games. I really feel that we should be more supportive of Black Lives Matter."@KellyHrudey on Hockey Central tonight: pic.twitter.com/nff94uR9JX

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 27, 2020

So while the NBA contemplated canceling the rest of their playoffs, the beat went on for the NHL.

Per Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, Zdeno Chara says the Bruins didn’t have enough time to formulate a response similar to the Milwaukee Bucks strike:

Paraphrasing here:#NHLBruins captain Zdeno Chara on if there was any discussion before Game 3 vs #GoBolts to postpone game:

"It was too close and not enough time to change the schedule."

— MurphysLaw74 (@MurphysLaw74) August 27, 2020

Jared Bednar said that no Avs player approached him about skipping the Colorado-Dallas tilt:

Jared Bednar said no players came to him about not playing this game. He said he would have addressed it as a team if they had @ColHockeyNow

— Adrian Dater (@adater) August 27, 2020

Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri, the only Hockey Diversity Alliance member still in the playoffs, noted that it had crossed his mind.

Nazem Kadri on thought of sitting this game out in light of Jacob Blake shooting:

"It crosses your mind when you see other leagues doing stuff like that. We support and applaud the NBA…It's about action and making a difference."#Avs

— Scott MacDonald (@0ffScottFree) August 27, 2020

All eyes will be on Flyers-Islanders and Golden Knights-Canucks today.