Report: Evander Kane not included on Sharks' official roster

This just in, the San Jose Sharks have announced their opening night roster and it does NOT include star forward Evander Kane.

The team has designated Kane as a "non-roster player pending completion of the NHL's investigation."

Earlier this offseason Anna Kane, Evander's estranged wife, made a series of social media posts alleging that Evander is essentially an unfit parent, a deadbeat husband and an addicted gambler. Anna alleges that Evander made illegal bets on NHL games, including betting on his own team's game. 

Earlier this month, the NHL released an initial report after concluding their investigation into gambling allegations essentially turned up nothing. In a press release announcement the NHL said it "found no evidence to support allegations of illegal gambling."

At the same time, the NHL announced that it was launching a new investigation into some disturbing sexual assault allegations levied against Kane, as well. And if that wasn't enough the NHL announced a week later that yet another investigation into Kane was underway concerning COVID-19 protocols. The rumor around San Jose is that Kane had submitted a fake COVID-19 vaccination card and in fact had not been vaccinated.

Needless to say, that Kane has found himself at the center of a lot of controversy this offseason and to date the Sharks as an organization have not yet distanced themselves from him. Contrast that with former Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen who himself was alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman. Once the news came to light the Canucks immediately suspended Virtanen and launched their own internal investigation into the matter. Flash forward later in the offseason and the Canucks walked away from Virtanen completely, buying him out of the final year of a contract that paid him $2.25 million per season. 

Now, in Virtanen's case he was a depth forward on the team's roster. In Kane's case, he's arguably the Sharks' best forward. As insensitive as it may seem, that has to be weighing in on the Sharks' decision to support Kane, at least until all the facts are uncovered. You have to imagine that if Kane were a depth player of Virtanen's ilk then he'd have been tossed aside months ago. But, for now... he's still with the team, just not on the active roster.