The Calgary Flames’ arch-rival, Edmonton Oilers, officially signed Evander Kane today to a one year contract worth 2.1 million. In real dollars Kane will receive around one million.
Perhaps his talent will be more of an asset than his attitude. Perhaps a toxic problem requires a toxic solution, but it doesn’t feel right that a team guy like Colton Sceviour gets waived to make room for a guy who’s been shunned by multiple NHL dressing rooms. Here’s what Kane had to say of his Sharks teammates disliking him:
Nice.
That’s a pretty funny take regardless of how you view the situation.
It’s false that his teammates disliked him. That’s just a narrative that his teammates started. They have bad leadership skills.
Sounds about right.
Then you have a guy like Colton Sceviour. A dependable penalty killer on the 4th line. A guy that immediately jumped to the defence of Duncan Keith when 6’8” Tyler Myers laid a huge hit on the future Hall of Fame defenseman. Despite him being only 6’0” and 190lbs, Sceviour went in without a second thought.
A guy who has, to the most literal sense of the word, bled for his teammates this season, and, while we’re not here to talk exclusively about the Oilers, Devin Shore was clearly the better candidate to be waived. That one is on GM Ken Holland.
It all just seems like bad form. If you are a Flames fan looking at this addition, you should be proud your team isn’t touching this situation with a ten foot pole.
Then there is a matter of the grievance Kane filed against his contract termination. What happens if Evander wins that? He will be signed to two active contracts with two different NHL teams. While his contract is being being litigated under the CBA, he should not be signing with any other teams. This is a matter that a divisional rival such as the Flames should be pressing at both the management and ownership level. Murray Edwards and Brad Treliving should be going hard at the Oilers over the legitimacy of this signing.
With all of that said, the Battle of Alberta on March 7th just got much more interesting. With Kassian most likely in the lineup for that date— he missed last game against the Flames due to COVID protocol. The Oilers should have at least two options that night to stand up for teammates including Evander Kane.
That would be— if Kane is willing to drop the gloves still. The 30 year old from Vancouver, BC hasn’t dropped the gloves in over two years— January 27th, 2020 being the date of his last bout.
The fellow participant in that fight? Erik Gudbranson.
Pretty weak fight all things considered, but maybe there is potential for a rematch.
It would be interesting to ask Evander about his lack of fights last season. Was he no longer willing to drop the gloves for his teammates? Did he consider his hands too valuable to do the fighting for the Sharks? Hard to say. To Kane’s credit, the rest of the Sharks top 6 participated in a total of two fights last season. Couture dropped the gloves with the smaller Jonathan Marchessault and Tomas Hertl fought Mark Stone. Both fights in the same game. The other 13 fights the Sharks tallied involved the bottom 6.
What isn’t hard to say is that the Sharks players are happy to have the Evander Kane era come to an end. As were players on the Winnipeg Jets.
The question that lingers for Flames fans now is, would you rather Treliving had signed him today? Could this leadership core insulate a guy who has been seemingly shunned by multiple locker rooms? Would it be fair for a team guy like Brett Ritchie to be put on waivers to make room for Evander?
You will remember Brett Ritchie has proven he is ready and willing to defend his teammates. This fight against Jujhar Khaira after the Oilers forward threw a dirty hit on Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
Ritchie missed extended time this season after sustaining a lower body injury in a fight against Mark Borowiecki. No need to watch that one.
The Flames have proven that they have more than enough on their roster to give them a chance against any team on any given night. What is more important is that he has 20 players in a Flames uniform all pulling in the same direction every game. The low points for this team this season have come when their commitment to structure starts to waver.
It’s unlikely that Evander Kane would have helped them address that issue.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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