Evander Kane
Evander Frank Kane is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, and Edmonton Oilers. Kane was selected fourth overall by the Thrashers in the first round of the 2009 NHL entry draft.
During his major junior career, Kane won the Memorial Cup with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League in 2007, finished as runner-up for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year in 2008 and was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team in 2009. Kane also set the Giants' franchise record for single-season goals in 2008–09. He set career highs in the NHL for both points and goals in 2011–12 as a member of the Jets. He also led the league in penalties in minutes for both the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons.
Internationally, Kane received gold medals as a member of Team Canada at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and 2009 World Junior Championships. He has also competed in the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 IIHF World Championships.
Off the ice, he has been involved in several legal disputes including assault, game-betting, and domestic violence claims along with a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
Early life
Kane was born on August 2, 1991, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Perry and Sheri Kane, who named him after American boxer Evander Holyfield.Kane comes from an athletic lineage; his father was an amateur boxer and hockey player, while Kane's mother was a college volleyball player. His uncle, Leonard Kane, is a member of the Canadian Ball Hockey Hall of Fame. Kane's cousin, Dwayne Provo, played in the Canadian Football League for seven years and spent one season with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Another cousin, Kirk Johnson, boxed for Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and later fought John Ruiz for the 2002 World Boxing Association Heavyweight title.
Growing up in East Vancouver, Kane attended high school at John Oliver Secondary. In addition to hockey, he played baseball, basketball, and soccer growing up. After beginning to skate at the age of three, he began playing minor ice hockey at eight. His father instructed him in his early years and initially wanted to keep him out of organized hockey until Kane was ten. Kane played in the 2003 and 2004 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from North Vancouver. At the age of 14, Kane recorded 140 points in 66 games with the bantam North Shore Winter Club, followed by a 22-goal, 54-point campaign to finish fourth in league scoring with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the BC Hockey Major Midget League. Kane also played minor hockey with the Vancouver Giants, prior to bantam and midget.
Playing career
Amateur
Kane was drafted 19th overall in the 2006 WHL bantam draft by the Vancouver Giants. He received his first WHL call-up for a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds on December 13, 2006, due to other Giants players international commitments in the World Junior Championships. Kane scored his first WHL goal, a game-tying marker, on March 25, 2007, the last game of the regular season. He also suited up for five WHL postseason games, being originally called up for the playoffs after Giants forward Tim Kraus was suspended for game three of the opening round. He later appeared in two Memorial Cup games, tallying an assist, as part of the Giants' 2007 Memorial Cup championship.Set to begin his rookie campaign with the Giants the following season, Kane experienced a minor setback, as he was forced to miss the start of training camp with a case of mononucleosis. He nevertheless recovered and joined the Giants full-time to tally 24 goals – third in team scoring – and 41 points in his first WHL season. Finishing tenth in rookie scoring, he was nominated for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year, which was awarded to Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Kane emerged with an impressive start to the 2008–09 season, registering at least a point in each of his first 22 games. After recording his first WHL hat-trick on October 10, 2008, against the Kelowna Rockets, he was named WHL Player of the Week on October 12, succeeding line-mate Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who had been chosen the previous week. Kane earned a spot as an injury replacement at the 2009 World Junior Championships with Team Canada. Upon returning with a gold medal, Kane was named player of the week for the second time in the season on January 12, 2009, after scoring six points in two games immediately following the World Juniors. Later that month, he participated in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game as captain for Team Cherry.
Kane finished his second WHL season with 48 goals and 96 points, fourth in league scoring. He surpassed Adam Courchaine's team record of 43 goals in a single season, set in 2002–03. Second in team scoring to Pierro-Zabotel's 115 points, the line-mates finished one-two in all-time Giants' single-season scoring as Pierro-Zabotel and Kane both surpassed Gilbert Brulé's previous 87-point mark. Kane received WHL West First Team All-Star honors along with teammates Pierro-Zabotel and Jonathon Blum. In the subsequent 2009 playoffs, after the Giants swept the Prince George Cougars in the first round, Kane scored a double-overtime game-winner to force a seventh game in the second round against the Spokane Chiefs. After eliminating the Chiefs in the seventh game, the Giants were then defeated by the Kelowna Rockets in six games in the semifinals. In 17 postseason games, Kane accumulated 15 points.
Professional
Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets (2009–2015)
Kane was selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers. Less than a month later, the Thrashers signed Kane to an entry-level contract on July 20, 2009.Kane made the Thrashers' lineup out of his first NHL training camp for the 2009–10 season. He recorded his first career NHL point in his debut on October 3, 2009, earning an assist on a goal by Rich Peverley against the Tampa Bay Lightning. His first goal was scored five days later, on October 8, beating Chris Mason with a snap shot in a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Blues. He suffered a bone fracture, late in his rookie season, blocking a shot during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6, 2010. Kane missed 15 games before returning to the lineup on April 3. Kane finished his NHL rookie campaign with 14 goals and 26 points in 66 games, ranked 12th among first-year point-scorers.
Kane suffered several minor injuries during his second NHL season in 2010–11 season. During a game against the Colorado Avalanche on November 30, 2010, Kane suffered a left knee injury after he was struck by a shot from teammate Tobias Enström; he missed two games. The following month, he missed one game due to an arm injury, sustained during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 7. In January 2011, he missed an additional six games due to a lower-body injury. Kept from the lineup for a total nine games, Kane increased his points total to 43 with 19 goals and 24 assists. He ranked fifth in team point-scoring – third among forward behind captain Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little.
During the off-season, the Thrashers were bought and relocated by True North Sports and Entertainment, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets. Kane was enjoying a successful first season as a Jet, leading his team in scoring with 18 goals and 31 points by mid-January 2012. During that month, however, he was sidelined with a concussion that was reported on January 21. Later in the season, he recorded a four-point game in a 7–0 win against the Florida Panthers on March 1, 2012. On September 15, Kane signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract extension with the Jets.
As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Kane joined Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. He was the first Canadian NHL player to sign a contract with the KHL. However, after 12 games with the club, in which he recorded one goal, Kane was released. The club's athletic director suggested that Kane "could not adapt to hockey in the KHL", but also said that both sides mutually agreed to end the contract.
On April 3, 2014, Kane was accused of assault, after an incident in Vancouver; he was later sued for financial damages. On April 5, 2014, Kane was a healthy scratch under new head coach Paul Maurice, in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the game, Maurice said it was a coach's decision, and that if Kane wanted back in the lineup, all he needed to do was "probably just come to the rink." On February 3, 2015, Kane was a healthy scratch against the Vancouver Canucks. It was later determined that he was scratched because of an incident with his teammates. Kane revealed in an October 2015 interview that he felt the Jets did not "have his back" throughout his legal and behavioral issues.
Buffalo Sabres (2015–2018)
The Jets traded Kane on February 11, 2015, as well as Zach Bogosian and the rights to Jason Kasdorf, to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft. On October 14, 2016, Kane cracked three ribs in the season-opening game when he crashed into boards while fighting for the puck with Alexei Emelin of the Montreal Canadiens, which left him unable to play for weeks. After returning to the lineup on December 1, 2016, Kane scored 28 goals for the Sabres.San Jose Sharks (2018–2022)
Amid declining performance and approaching the end of his contract, Sabres management benched him ahead of the 2018 trade deadline. On February 26, 2018, the Sabres traded Kane to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Danny O'Regan, a conditional first-round or second-round pick in 2019, and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2020. In his Sharks debut, Kane had two assists in a 5–2 win against the Edmonton Oilers. On March 16, 2018, Kane scored his first NHL hat-trick against the Calgary Flames, and then later added a fourth goal, contributing more than half the goals in the Sharks 7–4 win. Kane played 78 games and scored 54 points in his time with Buffalo and San Jose in the 2017–18 season. The 78 games played is the most in a season for Kane. The 54 points was the second-highest season total in Kane's career to that point.On April 26, 2018, Kane received a one-game suspension for cross-checking Vegas Golden Knights forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare during game 1 of the Western Conference second round. Through nine playoffs games, Kane recorded four goals and five points. On May 24, 2018, the Sharks re-signed Kane to a seven-year, $49 million contract worth $7 million annually. Kane has said that he would like to remain with the Sharks for the rest of his career.
During the 2018–19 season, Kane totaled 56 points and led the NHL in penalty minutes with 153.
During the 2019–20 pre-season, Kane was suspended for the first three games of the regular season due to abusing officials. Two games after returning from his suspension, Kane became the first Sharks player in franchise history to record a first period hat-trick in a 5–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Kane recorded another natural hat-trick later that season when the Sharks visited the Washington Capitals on January 5, 2020, scoring three straight goals in just over 10 minutes during the second period in a 5–4 overtime loss. After an elbowing hit in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on February 14, 2020, Kane was suspended for three games. Kane repeated as league leader in penalty minutes with 122 while registering 26 goals and 47 points, marking his fifth consecutive season with at least 20 goals.
On October 18, 2021, Kane was suspended by the NHL for the opening 21 games of the 2021–22 season for "violation of, and lack of compliance with, the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 protocols". On November 28, 2021, following the completion of his suspension, the Sharks placed Kane on waivers and was re-assigned to AHL for the first time in his career, joining the San Jose Barracuda the following day.
On January 8, 2022, it was announced that the Sharks had placed Kane on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, due to violation of AHL COVID-19 protocols.