The Risk in Signing Evander Kane

Edmonton Oilers were the favorites in acquiring Evander Kane and it became officially when they signed him to a 1 year contract worth 1.37 million dollars. Now according to CapFriendly Evander Kane’s contract has a cap hit of 2.1 million dollars, 750,000 in salary with a 625,000 signing bonus, and has a Full No Movement Clause.

To me it was not a surprise that the Edmonton Oilers decided to sign Evander Kane to a contract. Especially as Ken Holland who is the GM and President of Hockey Operations of the Edmonton Oilers was quoted on the Kane situation saying that everyone deserves second chances. I agree with Ken Holland saying that everyone deserves second chances. The problem is however is that Evander Kane has had multiple chances given to him and he has blown every single one of them. He has on left on bad terms with every team he is on.

I will list the ways he left on bad terms down below.

Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets
So what happend here was during the 2015 season Evander Kane was a healthy scratch during the game against the Vancouver Canucks and it was due to an incident that he had with Dustin Byfuglien involving many team violations involving Evander Kane. Plus with other legal issues he had the Winnipeg Jets decided to cut ties by trading him to the Buffalo Sabers. How does Evander Kane respond well he was quoted saying that the Jets did not have his back and just traded there issues away. Basically blaming the franchise instead of himself for why they parted ways.

Buffalo Sabers
This one was mainly team related as he suffered massive regression during the 2018 season. His contract was ending and the Sabers wanted to get some value for him so the Sabers traded him to San Jose. It also did not help when the assault allegations as well came out during his tenure with the team (Mainly happened in 2016), continuously breaking team rules, and the whole billboard controversy. That all had an effect to him loosing trust with the coaching staff and the Sabers organization as well.

San Jose Sharks
Oh dear where to begin here. Well I will give a simplified version of this and just list it.
– Gambling Allegations especially on NHL Games
– Declaring Bankruptcy
– Domestic Violence Allegations
– Using a Fake Covid-19 Vaccination Card
– Many other Covid-19 Violations
– Getting into altercations with the coaching staff
Plus with other players stating that they no longer wanted Evander Kane on there team anyone it came to no shock that the Sharks just decided to cut ties and place him on waivers.

The Oilers making this move signing Evander Kane is a really risky move. I get the talent is there and it would be great for the Oilers to get a consistently good player not named Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But he is too much of a distraction to bring him in as a part of the team. When the entire San Jose Sharks locker room displayed that they do not want him on the team for next season that is a massive problem to show what they think of him. If Kane can shatter a culture in many locker rooms he sure as well can do it again. Plus Edmonton’s culture was not really a strong one to begin with as well. I want to also add that Evander Kane could suffer regression and be more of a liability then a benefit on the ice as well.

It is a shame too because Evander Kane was one of my favorite players when he entered the league in 2009. Evander Kane also still has a ton of talent at his age and can contribute on any hockey team today. But here was a guy who went from being a Top 5 pick in an NHL draft and a face of a franchise, was a contributing player to making millions of dollars, to a locker room cancer with many off the field issues, being penniless, and almost potentially out the league with a tainted legacy. It is quite the fall from grace for Evander Kane. But with this signing by the Edmonton Oilers it is a very risky signing and it will be interesting how Evander Kane’s tenure with the Oilers will turn out. I wish nothing but the best for Evander Kane and hopefully he can succeed with the Oilers by not wasting another chance in the NHL.