Evander Kane finally opens up on gambling allegations and reports that his teammates want him gone

Embattled San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane broke his silence today on the damning allegations facing him from his estanged wife Anna Kane. In particular Kane was questioned by ESPN reporter Linda Cohn on allegations that Kane placed illegal bets on NHL games, including Sharks games that he himself played in. Obviously... if Kane is found guilty of these allegations that's a big, BIG problem for the NHL.

The NHL is expected to release a report on their investigation into the allegations and until they do Kane is maintaining that he's been falsely accused. From his interview with Cohn:

"Obviously [the accusations are] incredibly false. It's unfortunate that transpired, and it's unfortunate that those false allegations were made," Kane told ESPN's Linda Cohn, in an interview that aired Thursday on Outside the Lines on SportsCenter. "I understood the magnitude of them immediately. I know [they're] not true. I know none of what she was saying was true. I was very confident, comfortable with knowing that I was going to be exonerated and am going to be exonerated of those allegations."

Anna posted on Instagram earlier this offseason claiming that Kane had a gambling addiction and had wagered on NHL games illegally. "How does the NHL let a compulsive gambling addict still play when he's obviously throwing games to win money?" she wrote in one post.

Kane doesn't hide the fact that he has/had a gambling problem, but again he denies allegations that he placed illegal bets on hockey.

"When you have a problem, sometimes you can't control your decision-making at that time," Kane said. "I think that was an example of my problem getting the better of me. I had a gambling problem. And when you have a gambling problem, just like a drinking problem or a drug problem, sometimes you can't control your actions.

"I think part of the worst thing that ever happened to me was winning big, because you think you can do it again. When you're an athlete, the competitive juices are flowing. And then when you lose, it even bothers you even more. You just keep digging a deeper hole. At the end of the day, it's something that I went through and I'm looking forward to moving [on]."

Unfortunately for Kane, I'm not sure he'll be "moving on" with the Sharks. More than likely he'll be moving on FROM the Sharks this upcoming season. There have been numerous reports this offseason that Kane's teammates have had enough and want him off the team. Kane though is either unwilling to believe those reports or he's simply ignoring them.

"I didn't really have a reaction," Kane said of his response to the reports. "The media does what the media does. Certain members of the media [who] feel that they have an ear in the room or unidentified sources really mean nothing to me."

"I've heard rumors about me being traded. Well, I have a [no-trade] list that they can only trade me to and I haven't even been asked for it, so I'm not getting traded. And I would know about it first," he said.

Suffice it to say that this soap opera looks like it's not about to end anytime soon.