- The San Jose Sharks have waived forward Evander Kane with the intention of terminating his contract.
- Earlier this season, Kane was suspended 21 games without pay for using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.
- Before that, Kane faced allegations of domestic abuse and betting on NHL games. The league could find no evidence to validate these claims.
- The Sharks have indicated that they’re terminating his contract “for breach of his NHL standard player contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.”
Say goodbye to Evander Kane. Several months after Kane solidified his status as the worst person in the NHL by using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, the San Jose Sharks have had enough. Kane has been placed on waivers with the intention of terminating his contract for ‘for breach of his NHL standard player contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.’ He’s been playing with the AHL San Jose Barracuda since the suspension for the COVID vaccine fiasco ended.
Early in his career, Kane was best known for an impressive one punch KO of Matt Cooke. Now, he’s known for generally being an awful human being. It would take a book to chronicle Kane’s downward spiral of a career. There are so many rumors, allegations and claims about Kane’s questionable character that it’s hard to know where to start recounting them. He’s been accused of compulsive gambling, domestic abuse, betting on NHL games involving his teams and being an all around jerk. With the exception of the ‘being a jerk’ part the NHL has not found any evidence to validate these accusations. Amazingly, all of the aforementioned allegations have taken place within the past year.
Kane isn’t the sort of guy to ‘learn from his mistakes’ to become a better person going forward. Every time he gets into trouble he *says* he’ll do exactly that, at least to the minimal extend necessary to continue collecting a NHL paycheck. So after a summer during which he was under investigation for domestic abuse and betting on NHL games involving his own team he thought it prudent to double down on his personal sleaze. The offense was one that was downright stupid yet so typically self absorbed that it is quintessential Evander Kane. Before the season, Kane was suspended for 21 games without pay for what has been euphemistically termed an ‘established violation of the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 protocol’. The violation in question? He tried to get over on the league and his team by using a fake COVID vaccination card. A couple of weeks ago, reports circulated that Kane was ‘being investigated’ for the fake vax card–which is not only a violation of the league’s COVID protocol but illegal in both the US and Canada.
After he was busted, Kane gave this typically disingenuous comment:
“I would like to apologize to my teammates, the San Jose Sharks organization, and all Sharks fans for violating the NHL COVID protocols. I made a mistake, one I sincerely regret and take responsibility for. During my suspension, I will continue to participate in counseling to help me make better decisions in the future. When my suspension is over, I plan to return to the ice with great effort, determination, and love for the game of hockey.”
As a result, Kane was kept away from training camp and Sharks GM Doug Wilson was clearly biting his tounge when he gave this comment about Kane:
“It’s not ideal, but there is an ongoing investigation from the NHL. The focus has to be on our group here, the guys that are here today and the things that we can control, but also respect the process of dealing with some very serious allegations and some things that need to be addressed with the right process.”
When Kane returned from this suspension, the Sharks wanted no part of him but still had him under contract. He was in the fourth year of a seven year deal on May 24, 2018. That contract–worth a reported $49 million USD–will go down in history as one of the worst personnel moves in NHL history. Assistant GM Joe Will spoke for the team when he came off suspension saying that the team had explored all options and decided “the best thing at this time is for him to continue to play hockey and the best option for that right now is the [AHL].” At the time, he said that trading Kane was an option but the problem with that is that there’s not another team in the NHL that wants him at any price. Kane initially played well with the AHL team scoring two goals and adding six assists in five games. Unfortunately, that’s all he was able to play before he found himself in the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
As far as the specifics of the ‘last draw’ that resulted in his waiver you won’t be hearing about it from the Sharks. They released this terse statement about the move:
The San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) have informed Evander Kane that he has been placed on unconditional waivers with intent to terminate his contract for breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.
The Club will have no further comment on this matter.
Kane filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in California last January after incurring $26.8 million USD in debut. The month of his bankruptcy filing, he lost $1.5 million USD gambling. Immediately before Kane filed for bankruptcy, Centennial Bank sued Kane for $8.3 million in Florida federal court over gambling debts. The NHL will file a greivance on Kane’s behalf fighting the Sharks’ termination of his contract so there definitely be more to come out of this sorry sideshow.
