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Twenty four hours after I told you about Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks nearing a contract extension comes word that there may be a seven-year, $49 million deal in place.
Kane is worth every penny of a $7M AAV.
I love the team and dollars for Kane and teh Sharks.
Kane, 27, will be 34 when this deal expires.
If the news is true, and I'm told that it is, the Buffalo Sabres will be receiving San Jose's 2019 first round draft choice.
More to come...
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The Vegas Golden Knights knocked out Evander Kane and his San Jose Sharks on May 6 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
The Golden Knights have since shot down the Winnipeg Jets and will represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Golden Knights are a team of destiny right now.
The San Jose Sharks gave teh Knights all they could handle, but in the end, Marc Andre Fleury and his Golden Misfit brothers banded together to tame teh Sharks and ground the Jets.
In the first two rounds of the Western Conference Playoffs, Kane got his firsts taste of Stanley Cup hockey. Kane waited nine seasons to experience the Stanley Cup playoffs. Kane loved the taste of the battle and the intensity of playoff hockey.
On locker cleanout day, Kane, the #1 pending UFSA on the market come July 1, told media he was leaving the door open to returning to San Jose to help them slay the dragon that has emerged in the form of he Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sharks have made the playoffs 13 of the past 14 seasons.
Unlike other NHL franchises where Kane has played (Atlanta, Winnipeg, Buffalo) there is an organization-wide expectation to not only qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but to go deep in the playoffs every season. Kane hated losing a tough playoff series to an expansion team from Vegas. He vowed to use the stinging loss as fuel for his offseason training program.
Kane learned a valuable lesson in that you can't win until you learn how to lose.
Two seasons ago, the Sharks represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Joe Thornton-Patrick Marleau led Sharks lost in the Cup Finals to Sid, Geno, Phil, and the Penguins.
Last season, the Sharks were knocked out in six games and made a disappointing first round exit.
Losing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to a formidable Vegas Golden Knights club has left Kane and his teammates wanting more.
Kane added immediate value to an already impressive veteran core in San Jose. His work ethic, easy going personality, swagger, physicality and offensive production earned him the respect of his new teammates.
Kane gave the Sharks an element that they badly needed down the home stretch and in their playoff series against Anaheim and Vegas.
Sharks GM Doug Wilson spent months scouting Kane prior to the February 26 NHL trade deadline.
Kane’s San Jose experience was a perfect role for him because he didn’t have to be the spokesman nor the focal point. Kane was given a role to play. Kane played his role extremely well. Kane gave Doug Wilson, Peter DeBoer and his teammates everything he had to offer. Kane's performances were not lost on his teammates. Kane, 26, was respectful, responsible and highly offensive. The Vancouver native scored 9 goals and 5 assists in the 17 games he played for the Sharks following the trade deadline deal that sent him to San Jose for two conditional draft choices and prospect forward Danny O’Regan.
Kane spoke candidly about a conversation he had with his coaches on locker clean out day and told them “it’s really tough losing. It’s almost better not to make the playoffs then to lose in them. Obviously, that’s not the case but it’s how you feel in the moment. It (losing in playoffs) makes you more hungry to get back there and to get even further. For me, we won in the first round and lost in the second round. I want to keep building on that.”
Kane admitted on break up day (May 8) he suffered a shoulder separation against Vegas on March 31, well before the playoffs began. Kane also played on an MCL strain that he suffered in early April. The MCL injury forced Kane to miss a few games down the stretch.
Through it all, Kane never made excuses about playing with two serious injuries. He never complained about his ailments. He washed down his Tylenol with Gatorade and sucked it up while he played through the two brutal injuries.
Kane's new GM, head coach and new teammates were watching as he struggled to push himself to the highest heights while his knee and shoulder were screaming in pain in synchronicity.
It comes as no surprise that Sharks GM Doug Wilson is very serious about offering Kane a contract extension to re-sign with the Sharks on or before July 1, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
I was in San Jose earlier this month and was told that Wilson was motivated to talk about a contract extension with Kane's agent at Newport Sports.
Today, Kevin Kurz tweeted that he is hearing a similar story.
What does "mid-to-long term contract extension" mean exactly?
I've heard that Wilson has talked about four to eight years.
Shorter term, higher annual average value. Longer term lower AAV.
Kane’s six-year, $31.5 million contract expires on July 1. Kane’s average annual value is $5.25 million, which is a great cap figure for a 30-goal scorer. At the time of his trade to San Jose from Buffalo, Kane had scored 20G, 20A. He finished the regular season with 29G,25A. Kane scored 4 goals and an assist in his first 9 playoff games.
Kane is seemingly looking between $6.5 to $7 million annual average value as an ubrestricted free agent. Wilson has already done his diligence on Kane. Wilson vetted Kane meticulously before making the trade with Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres. Wilson is sold on Kane. Kane is sold on San Jose. It's a long term win-win for Kane and the Sharks, who impressively earned a 16-9-1 record with Kane on their number one line with Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi after the February 26 NHL trade deadline.
On locker clean out day, Kane said his first priority is to get himself health as soon as possible so that he can get back into the gym to begin preparing his body for another long regular season and another long playoff run.
“The next step for me is to take some time to relax. Get away from the rink a little bit. Take some time to debrief and just enjoy life”
Will Kane re-sign with the Sharks on July 1?
Or, will he roll the bones and opt to sign a lucrative, long-term contract with his hometown Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, or the awe-inspiring Vegas Golden Knights?
It’s important to note that the two men who drafted Kane into the NHL from the WHL Vancouver Giants, Don Waddell and Rick Dudley, are now the leadership group in Raleigh’s. Waddell and Dudley drafted Kane fourth overall to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. The Canes are open for business and would likely over pay Kane to choose the Hurricanes over the Sharks come UFA day. Doug Wilson is a smart hockey executive. The Vancouver Canucks have big money to invest in Vancouver native Evander Kane. Calgary considered trading for Kane as a rental at the trade deadline but got cold feet.
Wilson is not about to let Evander Kane skate away from Adan Jose.
Kane is talking about hockey right now. He's decompressing and taking a well earned breather.
Doug Wilson said earlier this month he intends to get a meeting scheduled with Kane and his agents at Newport Sports to discuss the future of the pending unrestricted free agent with the Sharks. I'm guessing Wilson and Kane's agent have spoken a few times and are nearing the formal contract prom-posal stage.
Kane said that his experiences in San Jose have been top notch. The Sharks experience was good for Kane. He came to play every day. He was a good teammate. He was a leader on the ice. All in all, the Sharks liked what they saw of Kane and vice versa.
“Yeah. Obviously, I started the year in Buffalo (where) I individually had some good success. Getting traded here was great to be a part of a winning environment again. Getting to know this group of guys and the coaching staff and organization, as a whole, definitely helps, and, definitely gives me a great idea about San Jose. Getting to know the city and the fans, it’s been real, real positive. I’ve really enjoyed my time. Like I said: nothing is set in stone, nothing has been talked about and we will take it from there”.
Suffice to say, Kane will have to be blown away by an offer or offers he cannot refuse by other NHL suitors on July 1.
Kane said he spoke with his coaches on locker clean out day and told them “it’s really tough losing. It’s almost better not to make the playoffs then to lose in them. Obviously, that’s not the case but it’s how you feel in the moment. It (losing in playoffs) makes you more hungry to get back there and to get even further. For me, we won in the first round and lost in the second round. I want to keep building on that.”
Kane sounds to me like a man who very much plans on using every ounce of his leverage in his first ever foray into unrestricted free agency. Kane likes the Sharks. Kane knows the Sharks are brand loyal to him. However, there are other NHL teams that interested in signing Kane to a multi-year, lucrative contract.
“I don’t know because this is the first that time I’ve ever had that opportunity (unrestricted free agency). So, I’m just learning like everyone else does when they go through it for the first time. Like I said, I’m going to take some time to maybe not think about it and figure out what those priorities are and really just go from there. We have a month and a half until July 1 so I’m sure there will be a lot of conversations."
Kane is a bright businessman. He and his agents speak often. He’s not about to tip his hand and show his cards in mid-May. Unrestricted free agency begins on July 1. Let 'em wait.
“I think at the end of the day, from what I’ve been told, and common-sense kind of tells you that there are three priorities you look for as a player:
Money. Chance to win and lifestyle.
Those are the three priorities. It really just depends where you rank them".
How does Kane rank the three priorities?
“Well, hold on. Do you guys have your note pads and I can tell you in exact detail”, Kane laughed.
Everybody likes them all, Evander.
“You want all three. You know you gotta get greedy”.
Thanks, Sharks.com
When Kane re-signs with the Sharks, Doug Wilson's 2019 first round draft choice will belong to Jason Botterill and the to the Buffalo Sabres.
Should Kane sign elsewhere, say Vancouver, Las Vegas or Philadelphia, the San Jose 2019 first round draft choice will revert to a 2019 second round pick.
Wilson is eager to get to the negotiating table with Kane and his agents.
“He’s difference maker,” Wilson said earlier this month.
When no other NHL GM was willing to commit to Evander Kane, Wilson believed in Kane.
Wilson doesn't care about the past. e caare about the present and the future. Wilsosn sees Kane in the future of the San Jose Sharks. Kane is the type of player you hate to play againsts and desperately want on your team. Kane started with a clean slate the moment Joe Thornton picked up Kane at the San Jose airport at midnight on February 27.
“He (Kane) had a clean slate. He wants to be a great player, we did our research, he came in here and he’s judged by his actions and his experiences here. He played through a couple of injuries. I think he fit in very well with this group, not only as a player but as a person.”
Sharks veteran leader Logan Couture wants Evander Kane to be his teammate in San Jose for years to come.
“We (the Sharks players) want him back. He’s fit in well,” Couture said empahtaically on Sharks break up day. “You don’t listen to what people said about him before. Just getting to know him over these past few months, he’s a great teammate, he cares, he wants to win. He was fun to play with.”
The Sharks can certainly afford to re-sign Evander Kane to a lucrative, long-term contract.
Wilson will have approximately $20 million in salary cap space available this summer.
With the NHL salary cap ceiling increasing to $81 million, Doug Wilson can make a serious offer to Kane. Wilson can offer financial security to Kane for 4-8 seasons.
Logan Couture ($6M AAV) and Joe Pavelski (46M AAV) each have one season remaining on their current contracts and will be eligible for new contract extensions on July 1. Wilson will likely re-up Joe Thornton (UFA, looking for 1 year contract). Thornton will turn 39 on July 2. Tomas Hertl (RFA, looking for multi-year deal), Chris Tierney (RFA, looking for multi-year deal), and Dylan DeMelo(RFA, looking for multi-year deal).
Don't be surprised when Wilson gets aggressive in his pursuit of soon-to-be unrestricted free agent John Tavares.
Listen to Wilson breakdown his team's performance in 2017-18. Listen closely to Wilson's assessment of Evander Kane and his high level of satisfaction with the young Sharks who played integral roles in his team's success during the regular season and playoffs.
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