Evander Kane should be out of chances in the NHL after Sharks terminate his contract

Evander Kane is out in San Jose.

It seems the clock has struck midnight for Evander Kane.

On Saturday, the San Jose Sharks announced that the team would be placing Kane on “unconditional waivers with intent to terminate his contract”, putting an end to the 30-year-old’s tumultuous tenure with the team. This has been a long time coming for Kane, who exits the Sharks due to a breach of his NHL contract while also violating the AHL’s COVID-19 protocols after being waived to the minors in late November.

This is the second time since October that Kane has been disciplined for breaking COVID protocols, as he was suspended 21 NHL games for faking a vaccine card near the start of the season.

Now that Kane’s contract will be terminated by the NHL, the other 31 teams across the league will soon be free to sign the winger to a contract, if they so please. And it seems tempting to do so from a pure stats perspective. Kane has the potential to be an annual 30-goal scorer in a full season, a mark he’s hit twice in his 12-year NHL career.

But we’ll stop that train of thought there. After everything he’s done, Kane should be out of chances to earn a NHL contract.

Why? Well, outside of violating COVID protocols twice, Kane was sued by a lender for $15 million on charges of fraud after he declared bankruptcy in early 2021 to the tune of nearly $27 million. Kane also had alarming sexual assault and battery allegations levied against him from his ex-wife, though those could “not be substantiated” by the NHL during their investigation.

The NHL also cleared Kane of allegations from his ex-wife that he gambled and bet on his own games.

Outside of seemingly never-ending legal issues, it’s also been reported that several Sharks did not want Kane back on the team this season after disrespecting team rules and generally being a difficult person to deal with.

So yeah, there’s a lot going on with Kane outside of his possible value as a hockey asset and teammate. And even that’s been called into question too.

Look, it’s clear Kane needs help of some kind. Outside of being in debt, Kane also lost out on $22.8 million as a result of this contract termination, a huge blow after being bought out of his seven-year deal. While I desperately wish that no NHL team decides Kane’s worth taking a flyer on, I also hope he gets the help he needs and starts doing the work to become a better person.

Until he proves himself — if he proves himself at all — this should be the last time we see Kane in the NHL for a very, very long time.

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