Evander Kane is not welcome back in the Sharks organization

Only one teammate, Timo Meier, wants Kane back.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Evander Kane is not welcome back in the Sharks organization
Zuma Press

In case you haven't been following the latest NHL offseason Soap Opera, it features San Jose Sharks star Evander Kane and his messy, public divorce from wife Anna Kane. Anna has alleged on social media that Kane has effectively left her high and dry, bailing on his commitments to his pregnant wife and his daughter to galavant around Europe with his ex-girlfriend. More seriously though, Anna has accused Kane of betting on his games, which of course is a major violation of NHL policies and could result with him being expelled from the league.

We already know, thanks to public court records, that Kane has filed for bankruptcy and has cited major gambling losses as a culprit for his financial problems. Keep in mind that this is a guy with a $7 million annual salary... yet he's worth nothing. Makes my head spin honestly...

Now Sharks insider Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports that Kane's Sharks teammates, save for forward Timo Meier, do not want him back on the team. Kurz reports that the relationship between Kane and the organization is irreparable and that his teammates are sick of waiting for GM Doug Wilson to do something about it.

From Kurz:

“Guys were going into Doug’s office all year long,” according to one source, “saying Kane had to go. … All Doug would say is, ‘All teams have locker-room issues,’ which just isn’t true. Not the teams that win, anyway.”
“The Sharks ignored everything,” said an NHL agent who represents at least one player on the team. “Team turned a blind eye.”
“One of my clients on the Sharks just hates him, hates the negative energy he brings into the room. 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.”

Interestingly enough, Kurz points to forward Timo Meier as Kane's only true friend on the team but is quick to point out that Meier has his own problems to deal with.

Again, from Kurz:

Another league source suggested that Kane’s only real companion in the dressing room is Timo Meier, and that the situation with Kane “is also a Timo problem.” Meier, who once said early in his career he tried to model his power-forward game after Kane, was arguably the Sharks’ most disappointing player last season with 12 goals and 31 points in 54 games. Whether Meier can reverse his decline of the past two seasons after scoring 30 goals in 2018-19 will be vital to the Sharks’ success in 2021-22.

All of this is to say that there's absolutely no way that Kane is back with the Sharks when they open up training camp in October, right? He's either going to get traded, have his contract terminated or just told to stay home on the couch.

Source: Kevin Kurz