San Jose Sharks
SOURCE: Don’t Expect Kane Ruling “For Weeks”
San Jose Hockey Now reported yesterday that Evander Kane was in New York meeting with the NHLPA in preparation for his grievance hearing against the San Jose Sharks.
In early January, the Sharks terminated Kane’s contract “for breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.” The NHLPA quickly filed a grievance on Kane’s behalf.
While SJHN was not given a hearing date yesterday, it was clear that the wheels were being in set in motion for that hearing if Kane was meeting with the PA.
Per Darren Dreger, the meeting is happening as we speak:
Evander Kane grievance hearing over SJ termination begins this morning at 10:30am.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 19, 2022
SJHN was told that this hearing would be an all-day affair. And according to Pierre LeBrun, it’ll be more than a day:
The Evander Kane grievance hearing will need a second day. It will need to be scheduled. Date TBD.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 19, 2022
Kane is expected back in Edmonton tomorrow to suit up for the Oilers’ game versus the Dallas Stars.
To get a better sense of what the San Jose Sharks could be arguing against Evander Kane, read here:
Why NHL Not Punishing Kane May Not Affect Sharks’ Contract Termination
If the termination is upheld, that means the Sharks are free and clear of the $22.9 million dollars owed to Kane over the next three years, both in terms of actual cash and on the cap. However, if San Jose loses the grievance, that entire amount, minus what Edmonton is paying him this year, is back on their cap.
A source tells SJHN, however, not to expect the arbitrator’s decision “for weeks.” We’ll see if it takes that long.
But it looks like the Sharks should receive some clarity about their salary cap situation and Evander Kane will know what’s going on with his missing $22.9 million soon enough.
That’s key for San Jose because it’s a pivotal off-season for them. The Sharks will miss the playoffs for their third straight season but are under the gun to quickly improve the team after re-signing Tomas Hertl to an eight-year, $65.1 million dollar extension. The cap-strapped organization will need all the cap space that they can get.
In the meanwhile, from this hearing date to the time of the arbitrator’s ruling, there remains the possibility of a settlement between the two sides.
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funny how we rarely get the full details about anything controversial going on in this league behind closed doors. the longer this draws out, i think people start to conflate 2 separate “alleged” Covid policy violations by Kane. the first was back in Sept/Oct with the fake Covid Vax Card scandal. isn’t it odd how the League suspended him for 21 days and Kane himself “apologized” and accepted his suspension then? yet the case was never referred for criminal complaint despite that being a federal felony. will we ever know (beyond the vague “Covid Violation”) what he served a 21… Read more »
Good luck prosecuting a black player in the hockey league especially Kane who believes he is a target because of the color of his skin rather than the attitude of the man. I started to think about Kane and his patterns. I’m wondering if he starts his drama to get traded. If just seems that way. He was looking to get out of the Sharks contract and knew someone would pick him up – he was also looking into staying in Canada because the ex wife may not be able to travel so easily given the covid rules. Kane win… Read more »
seems risky to start it all to get a trade going. the violence stuff against women prior to becoming a Shark and then this violation of federal law with the Covid travel stuff carried/carries potential criminal conviction and jail time. i think it’s just Kane’s character and limited “good behavior” time he can only maintain for a brief period. the wolf will bare his teeth at some point. in this climate of woke culture and identity politics you have to wonder (privately at the least), beyond his obvious hockey talent, why he’s gotten so many chances. the guy’s veneer has… Read more »
Just guessing, but I doubt Kane’s team argued for the entire $23mil.
My guess is they discounted by what Kane would have made as an AHL player plus whatever he can reasonably expect to earn elsewhere in the years ahead (including his EDM paycheck this season). In essence, what makes him ‘whole’. That’s be a much stronger case, given the arbiter reportedly can only rule for one side or the other on their specific claim.
Asking to be made significantly more than whole is a much tougher case to make.
They will if they can play the race card
That’s not an appropriate comment — for one, it’s inaccurate, there’s no evidence that Kane is looking for both his full SJS paycheck PLUS a full Oilers payday
I’ve written before that Kane is trying to get the $23 mil MINUS what Edmonton is paying him — and actually, I did write it here. “However, if San Jose loses the grievance, that entire amount, minus what Edmonton is paying him this year, is back on their cap.” If the Sharks lose the grievance, I imagine that will continue in the coming years — the NHL is not going to allow Kane to double-dip, so say he re-signs with Edmonton for like two years, $8 million after this year, you can subtract from Kane’s SJS cap hit. Just my… Read more »
Already several “race card” comments despite nothing has come out of the actual arbitration. Very fine people with very fine comments..so glad you’re moderating comments on this web site.
well, Kane himself brought that into the convo, so it’s fair game to speculate/comment on it.
That’s a fair comment — I don’t always check comments as quickly as I should. I’ll try to do better