Boughner: Kane will be around all season
Evander Kane will play this season, Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Tuesday.
In Kane’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, filed last week in the Northern District of California, it stated that the player “may terminate his contract and he may opt out of the season, as allowed under current rules, because of health concerns given the recent birth of his first child. Should he terminate his contract or opt out at a point in the season, Debtor will not receive his salary.”
The deadline, though, for players on teams like the Sharks that did not qualify for the NHL’s Return to Play last summer was Dec. 24. Kane has been with the Sharks all throughout their training camp, which began Dec. 31 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Kane practiced Tuesday with the Sharks and will be in the lineup Thursday when they play their first game this season against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena.
“I don’t think we’re worried about a distraction,” Boughner said. “I won’t make a comment on any player’s personal situation, but I am assured that he will be here for the whole season and that he’s on board.”
According to the filing, Kane listed assets totaling just over $10.2 million — mostly among his real estate holdings — and his liabilities at over $26.8 million.
Kane, 29, has earned over $52.9 million in his NHL career, accord
ing to figures available on CapFriendly.com. He is in the third season of a sevenyear, $49 million contract he signed in May 2018. He has a salary of $3 million this season, with another $3 million paid as a signing bonus.
T his season, per an agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, players are deferring 10 percent of their salary into future years and putting 20 percent of their salary into escrow.
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court places an automatic temporary stay on an individual’s debts, stops creditors from collecting payments and prevents foreclosures on homes, among other things. Forty- seven creditors are listed in the petition.
Although it would not normally be newsworthy, Kane’s commitment to playing this season is obviously a positive development for the Sharks, who need all of the offensive talent that can muster after they finished 28th in the 31-team NHL last season in average goals per game (2.57).
Kane was the Sharks’ leading goal-scorer last season with 26, and may have eclipsed the 30-goal mark for the second straight season had the NHL not suspended its schedule on March 12. His 47 points last season was second-most on the team, and he led all Sharks forwards in average time on ice with 19 minutes and 32 seconds per game.
Acquired by the Sharks in a February 2018 trade with the Buffalo Sabres, Kane possesses a dangerous scoring touch around the net, and plays an intense, physical style that sometimes crosses the line. He’s fought some of the NHL’s toughest customers in Vegas’ Ryan Reaves and former Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara, and has led the Sharks in penalty minutes each of the last two seasons.
Kane is entering his 12th season in the NHL. In 713 career regular-season games, he has 242 goals, 215 assists and 946 penalty minutes.
During training camp, Kane has been on what Boughner has called his top line, with Tomas Hertl at center and rookie John Leonard at right wing.
Boughner and general manager Doug Wilson said repeatedly in the offseason
that the Sharks’ best players need to be at their best this season for the Sharks to contend for a playoff spot. The Sharks are in the eight-team West Division with Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis and Vegas, and only the top four in the division make the postseason.
“I challenged him in the middle of the summer and before training camp, I like I did everybody else, is I want to see practice habits improve, I want to see guys engaged,” Boughner said.
Boughner liked what he saw from Kane during camp, saying he paid attention to detail and was a help to some of the younger players.
“Good on him,” Boughner said. “I know there’s other stuff going on, but he seems to be ready to go, and when he’s at the top of his game, he’s one of our best players and is a guy that we need. He’s a heck of a hockey player.” SIMEK UPDATE >> Defenseman Radim Simek, who experienced discomfort in his right knee earlier in camp, practiced Tuesday, keeping open the possibility that he can play Thursday. He’s slated to practice again today.