Can Sharks players heal rift with Kane?
The opportunity for the Sharks to buy out the remaining years of Evander Kane’s contract has come and gone and for now, it appears general manager Doug Wilson is counting on Kane and his teammates healing their fractured relationships with training camp set to begin late next month.
A report Wednesday in The Athletic, the essence of which was confirmed by this news organization, indicated several Sharks players became fed up with Kane over the course of last season due to his overall lax attitude toward team rules, including being late for practices and games and the players’ dress code.
Kane and Sharks associate coach Rocky Thompson also nearly fought over a disagreement during a powerplay meeting, according to the report, and the perception among some players was that Kane could act without the worry of discipline from Wilson or coach Bob Boughner. Some Sharks players indicated to Wilson that they did not want to remain with the team if Kane remained a Shark.
However, asked in July about the friction that had built up in the locker room, Wilson said, “To be honest with you, I don’t know if there’s locker room issues. I’m OK when guys are frustrated when we don’t make the playoffs. None of us should be happy.”
Wilson’s viewpoint seems to conflict with one held by several Sharks players.
“(Kane) needs so much help,” an NHL source familiar with the Sharks’ situation told this news organization.
Kane was the Sharks’ most impactful player this past season, as he led the team with 22 goals and 49 points as he played in all 56 games.
San Jose had a record of 1817-4 and was three points out of a playoff spot on the morning of April 10. Kane at that point had a team-high 35 points and led all forwards with nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.
But the Sharks' season quickly went off the rails, as they lost eight straight to fall out of postseason contention.
“You want to hold everybody to the same standard, which we do, but that has to go for your best players as well,” Boughner said in May. “There can't be any blurred lines there and I think, at times, because of the situation we were in, and we were fighting for every point, some of the players might have gotten away with more than we wished for.
“Next year coming in, day one, (we've) got to make sure that everybody's on the same page and they stay on the same page, and no one veers from that path.”
The NHL has an active investigation into allegations made by Kane's estranged ex-wife that he gambled on league games and was “throwing” games to win money.
Anna Kane also alleged that Evander Kane abandoned her and their infant daughter and forced her to sell her wedding ring in order to meet her expenses. Their home has been foreclosed, she said.
Kane has denied the allegations.
Gambling on NHL games by players is prohibited and league by-laws say that any player betting on an NHL game — whether it is his team's game or not — may be expelled or suspended by the commissioner.
“One of my clients on the Sharks just hates him, hates the negative energy he brings into the room,” said one NHL agent, who requested anonymity, to The Hockey News. “Only (Kane) can change that, but he may have gone too far (with the current allegations).
“Some guys think that they're bigger than the team, and I guess that helps drive (Kane) on a personal basis, but in the team construct, it doesn't play well at all.”
But if the NHL does not uncover any impropriety by Kane, opportunities for the Sharks to part ways with him — if they so choose — now appear to be limited.
Kane's contract carries a $7 million cap hit each of the next four years and contains a modified no-trade clause in which he submits a list of three teams, out of 30, that he could be traded to. Wilson reportedly tried to trade Kane earlier this offseason.
The Sharks, too, passed on a chance, albeit an unappetizing one, to buy out the remaining four years of Kane's seven-year, $49 million contract.
A second buyout window opened up earlier this month for the Sharks after goalie Adin Hill filed for salary arbitration. After Hill signed a two-year deal last Wednesday, the Sharks had a 48-hour window, starting Saturday, to buy out Kane, which would have kept his contract on the books for eight more seasons.
The dead money on Kane's deal would have totaled over $13 million for the next four seasons, then go to $1.833 million per year for four more years.
The Sharks, though, had already bought out the final three years of goalie Martin Jones' contract and were seemingly uninterested in adding to that dead money total.
NHL teams are not allowed to buy out injured players, but it does not appear Kane is seriously injured at the moment. He posted a photo on his Twitter account Tuesday, showing himself with his lower body equipment on, including his skates.
The Sharks in free agency added forwards Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano and goalie James Reimer, three veterans with sterling reputations on and off the ice.
Adding those types of players to the environment could help the Sharks win some more games and improve the culture if Kane remains on the team. Perhaps that's the calculation Wilson is making, that a few more wins coupled with a healthier environment put a salve on the situation.
As of now, there is no clear indication that Kane is on his way out.
“I'll just do what I do,” Cogliano said last month after he signed with the Sharks. “I feel like I've always been a guy that's got along with everybody in the room and has been a guy that's been a strong part of dressing rooms.”