What Aren’t We Hearing From Sharks About Kane?

MONTREAL — What aren’t we hearing from the San Jose Sharks about Evander Kane?

We’re not hearing that he’s welcome back in the Sharks locker room — even though he’s eligible to return to play on Nov. 30 after serving a 21-game suspension for COVID protocol violations.

“We got a while to deal with this. This is gonna be a decision that’s first made by management and ownership. After that, it trickles down,” San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said after morning skate today. “We haven’t even brought that up, I haven’t had any discussions with management or ownership.”

Logan Couture was asked what Kane’s path was to return to the San Jose Sharks: “We’re focused on playing hockey for the next little while and that’ll work itself out.”

“We’ll see once his suspension is over,” Marc-Edouard Vlasic offered. “I’m not in a position to say if there is or if there isn’t. My job is to help the team win on the ice.”

We’re not hearing about coaches or teammates keeping in touch with Kane — you would think they’d be keeping tabs on their long-time teammate.

“I haven’t thought about that,” Boughner said, when asked if he was going to reach out to Kane. “I think it’s a situation where I got enough on the go and I’m in charge of these guys here, my staff, and trying to be prepared, detailed. The rest will sort of take care of itself over time.”

“I have not [spoken to him recently],” Couture said, “and I’m not aware of any other player [having done so].”

“I haven’t talked to Evander,” Timo Meier said, “we’re focusing on the season now.”

We’re not hearing much empathy — even though Kane has been, for some of the San Jose Sharks players, their teammate for four years.

“He put himself in this situation,” Vlasic said. “He has personal stuff to handle; on our side, we’ll concentrate on hockey.”

We’re not hearing anybody defend Kane — it can be simple as denying the reports that Kane is a locker room problem. From the beginning of training camp to now and through at least dozens of Kane questions, not one San Jose Sharks player has stepped up to bat for their presumed teammate.

Couture Talks Kane Situation, Impending UFA Hertl

In short, there’s zero sense that the San Jose Sharks want Evander Kane around at all. Perhaps that will change, if Evander Kane offers an apology to his teammates far more genuine and substantial than what he offered on Sportscenter last month?

UPDATED: Kane Talks to SportsCenter About Gambling Allegations, Locker Room Discord

Think about that for a second: For once, a team isn’t necessarily putting winning first. Kane led the team with 22 goals and 49 points last season. That buys you a lot of latitude for all kinds of wrongs — and there’s still zero indication that they want him around.