Oilers sign Evander Kane
Former San Jose Shark forward Evander Kane signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday evening. The deal is set to account for $2.1 million against the Oilers’ cap.
Kane served a 21-game suspension this season after forging a COVID-19 vaccination card and then violating COVID health protocols with the Sharks AHL team after being placed on waivers.
Through the NHL's own investigation they found insufficient evidence that Kane lied about his COVID-19 status when traveling during the holiday period.
The night the signing was announced Kane had an interview with TSN to “clear up a lot of misinformation, a lot of the storylines painting me in a certain light that are completely false.”
“My message to the fans is I have done my due diligence,” Oilers General Manager Ken Holland said. “At the same time, the time that I've spent with Evander on a zoom call. We had dinner the other night in Vancouver and spent two and a half hours together.”
Oilers captain Connor McDavid and assistant captain Leon Draisaitl were both consulted by Holland about this addition to the team.
“At the end of the day, I got their opinion, their thoughts,” Holland said. “I talked to ownership, talked to [Chairman] Bob Nicholson, and talked to [head coach] Dave Tippett and people outside of the organization. At the end of the day, ultimately being the manager It’s my final decision.”
Holland feels Kane is a real positive addition with 43 games remaining.
“I view myself as a leader,” Kane said. “It’s funny why people think I’m going to come in and just [be] some kid on the playground that’s going to disrupt everything and that’s just not the case.”
Moving forward Kane wants to prevent his teammates from any of the same mistakes he’s made.
“You live and you learn,” Kane said. “I think everyone in this room has probably made mistakes they’re just not publicly recorded, they’re not questioned. I’m not sitting here saying I’m perfect.”
Kane is ready to go and moving along after what’s transpired the last few weeks, but the new market he’s in will have him under a microscope on a nightly basis.
“Well, I played in Winnipeg, so I’m good,” Kane said.
As for being a veteran voice in the locker room, Kane declined that he didn’t get along with all of his former teammates in San Jose.
“Less than a handful of guys but it goes both ways,” Kane said. “You know, when there are leaks coming from a dressing room, in the media, I wouldn't say that's necessarily a good act of leadership or being a productive teammate.”
Kane is slated to dress in Edmonton’s game at Montreal on Saturday. He is a top-six forward for the Oilers according to Holland.
When asked where Kane could fit in the lineup head coach Dave Tippett teased saying “just with both [Draisaitl & McDavid].”
“We’ll go on the road, we’ll just work with each other and see where the best fit is,” Tippett said.
Kane does bring a scoring touch to the table netting 78 goals in 195 games played for the past three seasons. He’s known to step up and bring physicality on a nightly basis while fighting isn’t out of the question either.
“I like to play with an edge and a bit of a mean streak, and I enjoy that,” Kane said. “A little bit of a different identity maybe than what they’ve had in the past that I can maybe add to this group.”
The Oilers will see what they’ve added in Bell Centre on Saturday with puck drop at 6 p.m. CT.
