Kane’s turnaround is remarkable
But clubs may still be wary of signing notorious bad boy
From outcast to unstoppable.
Sounds like a movie script, doesn’t it?
The advantage for Evander Kane, in this film noir tale of two hockey personalities, is that he would get to play both the good guy and the bad guy: the Humphrey Bogart role and the Sydney Greenstreet character.
Kane, after all, is the scoring star of the Stanley Cup playoffs with two hat tricks, then two more goals Tuesday night as the Edmonton Oilers overcame one of the longest long-shot goals in post-season history and shoved the Calgary Flames to the precipice of elimination.
Just months ago, Kane was also the NHL’s most notorious bad boy facing the possibility of being banished by his team or the league, or both. His personal life was fodder for gossip and tabloid entertainment, he had an acknowledged gambling problem and seemed light years removed from the Vancouver lad who arrived in 2009 as the face of a newly diversified league.
Was it belief in Kane as a person and a player that motivated Edmonton general manager Ken Holland to sign him to a last-gasp, oneyear, $2-million (U.S.) contract at the end of January? Or were the Oilers so desperate that they were willing to give any player who might help them one more chance?
Holland’s choice has clearly paid off for the Oilers, who don’t need to look much beyond the here and now when it comes to imagining the 30-year-old power forward’s future in hockey. All Edmonton fans and media care about is that Kane has scored 12 goals in only 11 games in these playoffs, a remarkable turnaround for a player who was skating in the minors earlier this season, and at the same time an illustration of the elite and unique talents that pro hockey analysts have always seen as part of the Kane package.
In a league where true power forwards are few and far between, Kane fits the bill. But Winnipeg, Buffalo and San Jose all became disenchanted with him as he descended into a personal quagmire of gambling debts, missed meetings, alienated teammates and an unhappy marriage. Even COVID-19 tripped him up. He was twice investigated by league officials for allegedly declining to abide by NHL and U.S.-Canada pandemic regulations, and was suspended 21 games last fall for one of those violations.
Yet here we are, just seven months later, and Kane is within range of the NHL record for playoff goals (19) shared by Reggie Leach and Jari Kurri, while the Oilers are experiencing the first serious postseason success of the Connor McDavid era. All is forgiven, apparently.
“I talked to lots of people,” Holland told Sportsnet.ca.
“I had people in my organization talk to as many people as we could about Evander. I thought it was a no-brainer from a hockey standpoint. Then the other side, obviously, is the background, the character check.”
Those issues will once again come into play this summer, when the Oilers decide whether to try to resign Kane — and take on the same risk the Sharks did after acquiring him from the Sabres in 2018 and signing him to a seven-year, $49million contract. Things ultimately went so badly that the Sharks terminated that contract, and any NHL club will be wary of making the same kind of commitment.
For now, the combination of Kane and ex-Leaf Zach Hyman on the wings is giving Edmonton a more rambunctious look. Remember, this was a team in such deep trouble earlier this season that head coach Dave Tippett was cashiered in favour of minor-league coach Jay Woodcroft, who has turned the team around. They escaped a firstround upset at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings and now could be headed to the Western Conference final. Kane was undeniable part of the turnaround.
Many people outside hockey will marvel at the second/third/infinite chances given to athletes such as Kane, but this is how sports have always operated. Once you can’t play, nobody will listen to your sad story. But as long as you can, leagues swollen by expansion will always have at least one team willing to look beyond your transgressions. For Edmonton, it worked with Zack Kassian under another administration. So why not try again if the price was right?
Nobody really knows where Kane is in his life off the ice. Just over a year ago he filed for personal bankruptcy, despite earning almost $53 million in his career. His former wife accused him of sexual assault and domestic battery and said he bet on NHL games, including his own. The NHL investigated and didn’t find enough evidence to take action.
For a time it seemed all of this would disqualify Kane from playing, but Edmonton decided the risk was worth it. And so, a bankrupt chronic gambler accused of abuse got to play in the NHL again.
It’s not a nice story at all, not unless you cheer for the Oilers. Then you can torque it into the tale of a misunderstood pro athlete vindicated by turning into a playoff scoring star.
But there’s no vindication here. There is only a gifted hockey player doing what he has always done best, while everyone else holds their nose and hopes — as we should — that his troubles are indeed behind him.
Kane can still score, so he’s playing in the NHL. Playing the role of hero. We’ll see over time whether his days as a villain are truly over.