Kane's grievance hearing with Sharks gets underway
Evander Kane's grievance hearing over the San Jose Sharks' decision to terminate his contract is underway.
It was not immediately clear how long the hearing, first reported Tuesday by TSN, might last. On Monday, though, Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said Kane was away from the team for personal reasons and would return Wednesday.
In January, Kane had what was remaining of his seven-year, $49 million contract terminated by the Sharks, who believed the winger breached his deal and violated AHL COVID-19 protocols.
The NHL Players' Association quickly filed a grievance on Kane's behalf over the termination and Kane's agent, Dan Milstein, tweeted that the Sharks did “not have sufficient grounds for taking this action.”
If Richard A. Levie, the Impartial Arbitrator on the matter, rules that the Sharks did not have sufficient grounds, the team could still be on the hook for all or some of the roughly $22.9 million that Kane was still owed at the time, money that
could come back on San Jose's salary cap ledger.
Kane was placed in AHL protocol on Dec. 21 after he tested positive for the coronavirus and initially there is a dispute as to whether he had medical clearance to fly to Vancouver on Dec. 29 while he was supposed to be isolated for 10 days.
The Barracuda, the Sharks' AHL affiliate, expected Kane to return to the team on Dec. 31, after
his quarantine, but he did not come back until midway through the following week, although that was also disputed.
Later in January, the NHL cleared Kane after the league investigated his cross-border travel during the holiday break. The NHL looked into whether such travel was conducted in accordance with applicable law in both the U.S. and Canada.
After Kane was cleared by
the league, he signed a oneyear, $2.11 million contract with the Oilers.
Kane played five games with the Barracuda after he cleared waivers in late November. Kane was coming off a 21-game suspension from the NHL for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.
Kane's contract had an average annual value of $7 million through the 2024-2025 season.