Sharks’ Boughner says Kane is ‘on board’

Evander Kane will play this season, San Jose 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 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, according to figures available on Capfriendly.com.

He is in the third season of a seven-year, $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.

This 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. Fortyseven 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).