Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks appear to be between a rock and a hard place with Evander Kane.
Earlier today, The Athletic reported that “several key players informed team brass that if Kane was going to be a part of the Sharks going forward, they didn’t want to be.” The Mercury News has corroborated the “essence” of The Athletic’s story.
Teammates were unhappy with Kane’s “general disrespect for team rules, including routinely being late for games and practices, not adhering to the dress code and having poor practice habits.”
Reportedly, Kane nearly got into a fight with assistant coach Rocky Thompson over the winger’s positioning on the power play.
Of course, this toxicity is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kane. In January, he declared bankruptcy and got the San Jose Sharks sued in the process. Last month, soon-to-be ex-wife Anna Kane accused him of gambling on Sharks games, allegations that the NHL is currently investigating. This, on top of his troubling history with women and well-documented locker room issues in Buffalo and Winnipeg.
Kane also is in the middle of a long, expensive contract, a nightmare of GM Doug Wilson’s making: He’s got four years at $7 million dollars AAV left.
So where does that leave Wilson and the San Jose Sharks?
The Sharks could attempt to terminate Kane’s contract, but that isn’t likely to be penalty-free for the club unless the league finds that the winger has gambled on NHL games. Barring that, San Jose could find other grounds to terminate the contract, but that might involve a Mike Richards-like settlement in the end, which will cost the Sharks plenty. The Los Angeles Kings are paying Richards until 2032 — every dollar against the cap.
The off-season’s second buyout window was an option — San Jose had 48 hours after signing Adin Hill to buy out another player — but that window has passed.
So what about a trade? Kane was the San Jose Sharks’ Team MVP last year, and he’s one of the league’s premier power forwards. He can skate, he can fight, and he can score — a rare combination these days.
Now there’s a good, good chance that regardless of Kane’s on-the-ice prowess, the off-the-ice baggage will make him virtually untradeable. It’s been reported that Wilson has already offered Kane around the league to no takers. But surveying some league sources this afternoon, there was more interest in Kane than I expected.
Which teams might take a swing at Kane? What sweeteners might the San Jose Sharks have to add to a Kane trade?
“Include a first-round pick and I’d say Carolina might do it,” an NHL team executive suggested to San Jose Hockey Now.
That might be a non-starter for the resetting Sharks — but for what it’s worth, the franchise has all its first-rounders in the foreseeable future.
“It has to be some team that’s absolutely desperate for offense or have an owner that is willing to weather the media shitstorm or they have a strong-enough leadership presence already or the GM doesn’t care.”
The Hurricanes, who signed Tony DeAngelo a couple weeks ago, fit at least a couple of these parameters. They would probably also insist that the Sharks retain some of Kane’s cap hit.
The exec added that Kane’s locker room issues, in another light, aren’t that big a deal: “He wasn’t a good teammate before all of this. He was terrible in Winnipeg and Buffalo too.”
His point? That’s not what would keep Kane from gainful NHL employment.
Sure, the gambling allegations, even if the NHL finds Kane innocent of betting on hockey — or his litany of past problems — might keep most suitors away. But maybe not everybody?
The executive conceded, however: “Arizona also likes picks. But that might be too much money to take on. I don’t think there are many other teams that would even entertain it.”
For another NHL scout, he’d at least listen if the San Jose Sharks were willing to retain salary and pile on picks.
“If they retained and gave me assets I would have to at least hear them out and consider,” he said.
His primary consideration, assuming Kane is cleared of gambling on the sport?
“Kane at 4×5 and getting assets?” the scout mused. “It depends on your core and leadership group.”
This is assuming that the Sharks would retain $2 million a year on Kane’s remaining money. But the idea is that a strong internal leadership group could “manage” the talented Kane.
It’s worth noting, that’s the same premise with which Wilson brought Kane to San Jose in 2018 — that the reputed troublemaker would benefit from being in the same locker room as Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Joel Ward, among others.
That said, another league source, who’s shared a locker room with Kane, wouldn’t take him for free: “He’d just disrupt everything. It’s not worth it — then you don’t have a team.
“The problem with him is he’s narcissistic and he doesn’t know about respect. He doesn’t respect himself nor his teammates and they don’t respect him.
“How can your top scorer and one of your better players not be part of your leadership group?”
This source doesn’t envy Bob Boughner’s job, especially since Boughner himself suggested that Kane was already given liberties last season.
“Bob Boughner has an impossible task,” this source acknowledged. “If you’re going to keep people on the same page, you better be prepared to make them accountable. And I don’t think Kane wants to buy that program.”
So for this league source?
“It’s hard to believe that this culture gets a chance to change until he’s removed.”
It’s important to note too: Kane has a limited no-trade clause, which allows him to choose just three teams that he can get traded to without his permission. So that would be another potential roadblock to dealing him.
Keep Kane or trade him — either way, it looks like it’s going to be “choppy waters” for the San Jose Sharks.