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Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Evander Kane one-on-one: On his last days an Oiler, race in hockey and why he chose the Canucks
It wasn't long after the Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row that Evander Kane found out he'd be moving on. On a salary cap-strapped team that needed to re-sign Evan Bouchard, and still needs to lock up Connor McDavid long-term, Kane's $5.1 million-a-year deal became too much too bear. But, the power forward's contract had a 16-team no trade list. Kane said he, his agent and the Oilers worked together to find the best landing spot for him. And that final destination was his home city of Vancouver, where he'll play close to old friends and family. The Oilers got a fourth-round pick in exchange, which they used to select Saskatoon Blades forward David Lewandowski. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I would have loved to have stayed and finish my career here in Edmonton,' said Kane, a father of four. 'Me and my family, we have a lot of great memories here, on and off the ice. Obviously, I understand hockey is first and foremost a business and that people have to make business decisions, especially when there are salary-cap issues with teams. When you go to the finals back-to-back years, you probably have a pretty good team, and you have players making a lot of money. I think you saw that this summer with a ton of turnover. It's going to be happening for others next year, with a lot of guys moving on. 'For me personally, my agent made me aware of where Edmonton was, and obviously, I had some control in terms of where I went. And the Oilers did a nice job of working with me to get me to a place that made some sense for me and my family instead of just trading me to the highest bidder. I was appreciative.' Before the interview, Kane's agency made it clear that he wanted to clear the air over the Game 6 post-game controversy that erupted after he didn't join his Oilers' teammates for the customary post-series handshakes with the Florida Panthers. Kane received a misconduct penalty with just a little more than two minutes left in the third period of that 5-1 loss, and didn't re-emerge after the final horn sounded at the Amerant Bank Arena. It led to a firestorm of criticism and became a social media cause celebre. Kane said he doesn't understand why so many pundits don't see it for simply what it was, a player who was thrown out of a game and thought the best course of action was not to come back to the ice after 60 minutes. 'It's baffling to me, how anybody saw that in any other way than somebody getting kicked out of a game,' said Kane. 'I mean, I've been kicked out of games in the past. Other players have been kicked out of games of the past. I've never seen anybody come out and shake hands if they were kicked out of the game in an elimination game of the postseason. So, I didn't. Then I saw some criticism around it for me, I felt like they were just looking for something to talk about. 'Even if you look at, like, some of the chat about how I had been playing with a couple of minutes left to go. The season's over. I mean, who cares? You look at some of the media pundits, they talk about how you gotta go down swinging, and then once you go down swinging, it's all about discipline, has he lost his mind. I find it ridiculous. You know, these are people that have never been in real intense competition ever in their lives — a lot of them, at least. I find it funny to listen to to it sometimes.' Of course, it brought up the question: did Kane think the colour of his skin had a lot to do with how his actions, or lack of action, were perceived? More pointedly, would the criticism have been as strong had he been a white farm kid from Saskatchewan? The NHL is fully aware that it has a race issue. It's no accident that the league hired civil-rights leader Kim Davis to become its vice-president in charge of making the league more diverse and inclusive. It's the reason every team now makes league-mandated in-arena announcements that prejudicial behaviour won't be tolerated. Now that the does-hockey-have-a-race-problem debate is pretty well over, we are in the uncomfortable phase where we're finding out just how hard it is to change the status quo; from the NHL to Hockey Canada to USA Hockey, actions have been taken to try and address a problem they know exists in the game — that the whiteness of hockey is a big reason it is No. 4 when it comes to the so-called 'Big Four' of pro sports. In the case of Evander Kane, his critics will point to a laundry list of transgressions, both real and perceived. Kane was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, but the courts sided with him, granting him parental custody of their daughter. A restraining order was placed against his ex-wife. He has since remarried. His contract was terminated by the San Jose Sharks before he signed with the Oilers in 2022. Kane fought it, and he and the Sharks later settled on a compensation package. In 2021, Kane filed for bankruptcy in California and showed $1.5 million in gambling debts. The NHL investigated to see if there was proof that Kane had bet on NHL games, and later cleared the player. The only charge that has stuck to Kane was a 21-game suspension for violating the NHL's COVID-19 policies. Kane had a self-admitted gambling issue and sought help for it. Do you recall another NHLer who had a severe issue with gambling? In 2003, Jaromir Jagr accrued $450,000 in gambling debts and owed around $3 million in back taxes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Did that stigma stick with Jagr? Absolutely not. So, while Kane has won in the courts of law, he hasn't been as successful in the court of public opinion. And he said his willingness to be candid and the colour of his skin make for a mix that so-called hockey traditionalists don't like. Kane has a clothing brand, Defy, and his love of fashion is plain for all to see in his pre-game walks into the arena. He is the self-proclaimed best-dressed player in the NHL, and he said the new CBA's lack of dress code isn't going to change his ways. He's also launched a wine line, Dovetail, and hosted a posh launch for it at Edmonton's Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in August of 2024. But put together Blackness and flamboyance, and he feels it's an anathema to the hockey establishment. 'Media are always looking for something to talk about and, on both sides of the equation, they love pointing out certain things when it comes to me,' said Kane. 'Yeah, like they ask for and they love candidness, but it's only from particular people, at least it seems that way. They like emotion from certain players, and they call it emotion with certain players. And when another player shows that same kind of emotion, they call it something else. They call it a lack of maturity. They call it, 'Losing his mind. Losing control.' It's whatever they want, whatever terms they want to use — character flaw, whatever it may be. They throw these terms out very loosely. The same actions, they could have two different adjectives to describe two different players.' Kane's sentiments are backed up by Irfan Chaudhry, the MacEwan University expert on race and inclusion, who was hired by Hockey Canada in 2023 to help the organization with its diversity efforts. During the COVID lockdowns, he hosted the virtual Grow the Game summit. As part of his work, Chaudhry highlighted the 'leniency effect.' Second chances and forgiveness are noble aims, but they tend to be granted to white athletes with greater frequency than to players of colour. For example, Dany Heatley's dangerous driving killed a teammate, and he was welcomed back to the NHL. During his session, Chaudhry showed pictures of Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, and asked the audience what adjectives came to mind. He then showed pictures of Kane and P.K. Subban and asked the same question. Chaudhry said that Black athletes are often portrayed in the media for their physical prowess, while white athletes are praised for their brains and determination. Think about it the next time you watch an NFL game. How do the commentators describe a Black quarterback vs. a white one? How many white quarterbacks are recycled and given second, third and fourth chances? 'That would be like Tom Brady, right?' said Kane. 'Yeah. What people say is 'what a warrior' and that he 'just wants the best of a great teammate.' But if a Black player was like that, he would selfish, he's trying to make it about himself. Absolutely. It's even higher in hockey because there's so few Black players. 'In hockey, they ask, does he bring physicality? I mean, I have over 300 goals in the National Hockey League. How many players in the league's history have that? Not many. Not as many as you might think. How many players have played in the league? Like, you know, I averaged almost 30 goals a year over my entire career. And the way media talks about certain players it's like they're always trying to under-represent and undersell certain players. And then I see comparisons, I see them talk about other players, and boy, is it an oversell and a half, and I'm thinking, why is that? And truly, why is that? You know, it's not a one off, it's not one year, I've been in the league for 16 NHL seasons, and I've seen a lot of different things. There's been a lot of examples of this type of coverage in media, in the game of hockey. It's not all, and I want to make that very clear. It's not all. But it's more than one or two. 'When a player looks a little different, they don't know how to handle it. They feel uncomfortable.' During the 2023-24 season, Kane caused a furor with the Hockey Night in Canada panel when, during an intermission interview, he noted that 'he didn't play much in the first period.' As if any players want reduced ice time — yet somehow an all-white panel came to the conclusion that it was an issue of character. It was ESPN's Kevin Weekes, a Black former NHL goalie, who finally pointed out, 'When a player wants more, I don't have a problem with that.' Kane missed all of the regular season with injuries, and simply smiled and said 'that's a very interesting question' when asked if he was healthy enough to return before the playoffs. He returned for the Oilers' second game of the postseason. And, like many of his Oilers teammates, had to endure two heartbreaking finals losses to the Florida Panthers. 'It's difficult,' he said. 'You look at the first year, obviously, I couldn't finish the series. I was hurt, you know, pretty much the entire regular season and really hurt in the playoffs. But to lose in seven games and not get it … I mean, any time you go down three games to none, you really put yourself behind the eight ball and we were able to come back and give ourselves one game to win a Stanley Cup. This year, we have home ice, we win Game 1 and it was big, going into overtime, winning in overtime.' Then Brad Marchand scored the overtime winner in Game 2, and the series changed. Kane's dad, Perry, and Marchand's dad, Kevin, played together on the junior Dartmouth Arrows team in Nova Scotia, but Kane said he only found out about it when asked about it during the Cup final. There was no deep relationship between the families. 'The next game, it could have went either way as well,' said Kane. 'You know, we jump out to a bit of a lead and it's just one of those things that, if you get up two to nothing, maybe the series changes a little bit. I think really where the series turned was Game 5; we didn't play the type of Game 5 we needed to play. Coming back, tied 2-2, we could have ensured at least we have a Game 7 on home ice. I didn't think we had our best game, but in a big way. And then, Game 6 it just seemed that when they got opportunities, they scored. And then their goalie made a big save. 'I think the whole series, both Cup finals, you know, their goaltender (Sergei Bobrovsky) stole some games for them. He was elite, and you look at their team, they've got big, mobile defencemen, great goaltending and they've got a deep forward lineup with some top-end talent. You could have said the same thing about our team was as well, or be very close to that. That's why we were in the Cup final back-to-back years. So the margins in both series were so small. And I think the second time both teams were better. It was tough to lose, but we were right there.' Kane is thrilled his family will be able to attend all of his home games. His dad is still active in hockey, and runs Spot On Hockey, which works to give instruction and encouragement to players of colour. He's brought that program to Edmonton, as well. 'He donates ice and instructors and gives kids, basically, a free opportunity to learn the game of hockey and work on their skills and get better,' said Kane. 'And there's nobody more passionate about minorities and getting them involved in a game that he loves.' And will his dad see a lot of home wins? Kane believes this Canucks team is close to getting back to where it was two seasons ago, when it won the Pacific Division and was ousted in the second round of the playoffs by the Oilers after a wild, physical seven-game series. 'We played Vancouver in the second round in the first year we went to the Cup final,' said Kane. 'And we had to take them to Game 7, and we squeaked it out. Vancouver, only two years ago, they could have been in the final. They were probably the toughest series, believe it or not, that whole playoff, including Florida. I mean, we got down three in Florida, but then we won three straight, right? Yeah. Canucks were probably our toughest series over that whole year. If you look back at that, obviously they had a bit of an off year last year, I think that it's more than realistic to be back in the playoffs and be contending. Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Evander Kane one-on-one: On his last days an Oiler, race in hockey and why he chose the Canucks
It wasn't long after the Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row that Evander Kane found out he'd be moving on. Article content On a salary cap-strapped team that needed to re-sign Evan Bouchard, and still needs to lock up Connor McDavid long-term, Kane's $5.1 million-a-year deal became too much too bear. But, the power forward's contract had a 16-team no trade list. Article content Article content Article content Kane said he, his agent and the Oilers worked together to find the best landing spot for him. And that final destination was his home city of Vancouver, where he'll play close to old friends and family. The Oilers got a fourth-round pick in exchange, which they used to select Saskatoon Blades forward David Lewandowski. Article content 'I would have loved to have stayed and finish my career here in Edmonton,' said Kane, a father of four. 'Me and my family, we have a lot of great memories here, on and off the ice. Obviously, I understand hockey is first and foremost a business and that people have to make business decisions, especially when there are salary-cap issues with teams. When you go to the finals back-to-back years, you probably have a pretty good team, and you have players making a lot of money. I think you saw that this summer with a ton of turnover. It's going to be happening for others next year, with a lot of guys moving on. Article content Article content 'For me personally, my agent made me aware of where Edmonton was, and obviously, I had some control in terms of where I went. And the Oilers did a nice job of working with me to get me to a place that made some sense for me and my family instead of just trading me to the highest bidder. I was appreciative.' Article content Article content Before the interview, Kane's agency made it clear that he wanted to clear the air over the Game 6 post-game controversy that erupted after he didn't join his Oilers' teammates for the customary post-series handshakes with the Florida Panthers. Kane received a misconduct penalty with just a little more than two minutes left in the third period of that 5-1 loss, and didn't re-emerge after the final horn sounded at the Amerant Bank Arena. It led to a firestorm of criticism and became a social media cause celebre. Article content Kane said he doesn't understand why so many pundits don't see it for simply what it was, a player who was thrown out of a game and thought the best course of action was not to come back to the ice after 60 minutes.
Boston Globe
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
NESN's homage to the 1975 World Series, which included a look at the epic Game 6, was a home run
It was right in this 50-something's wheelhouse, and according to Amy Johnson , NESN's coordinating producer who oversaw the project, the feedback has been positive. 'Especially from those that remember the '75 team, that generation,'' she said. The inspired broadcast included a vintage score bug and simple-text graphics of the time. Play-by-play voice Dave O'Brien and analyst Lou Merloni dressed in gaudy jackets and ties that looked as if they were lifted straight from Gene Rayburn's wardrobe on 'Match Game.' (Look it up, kids.) Advertisement NESN went with a retro look for its broadcast of Tuesday's Red Sox-Reds game. NESN Reporter Jahmai Webster — wearing a shirt that looked as if it came from an exhibit on Studio 54 — voiced over some immersive flashbacks, including a look back at the epic Game 6 and a tribute to Luis Tiant , who should have been in Cooperstown long ago. Former Sox pitcher Rick Wise was an insightful guest in the booth. A graphic featuring wood paneling — ubiquitous in homes and on cars in the '70s — was a particularly nice touch. Advertisement The only disappointment was out of NESN's and the Red Sox' control. Rain, which coincidentally wreaked havoc with the schedule in the '75 World Series, forced Tuesday's game to be halted in the third inning, thereby interrupting the plan for the third and fourth innings of the broadcast to be fully retro. Related : I asked Johnson if there was more the NESN team wanted to add to the broadcast but didn't quite get to — a perm for O'Brien, or something like that, perhaps. 'I think it was almost the opposite, where we added more as we went,' she said. 'It started very basic and very simple and then as we talked about it more and thought about it more, we added more to it. This was so much fun to do because it was such a great team effort from everyone at NESN to everyone in our crew at Fenway. The buy-in is what made it a lot of fun and I think it came across on the air and with everyone involved.' Johnson said the plans to go vintage for this series had been in the works since March, with the network's sizable content-planning department involved from the get-go. Her own preparation included watching broadcasts of '70s baseball games on YouTube to be able to capture just the right groovy vibe. 'On the in-game graphics alone, we've been working for over a month trying to get those just right to make sure they were readable, accurate, and that we had enough different versions to accurately cover two whole innings of baseball — which we thought we'd have, before the rain arrived — without leaving people kind of wanting more information. Related : Advertisement 'There are very few questions unanswered on a screen in a baseball game these days, so we were trying to kind of find that middle ground. It's been really nice to hear from people who said we got it right.' NESN has more special Red Sox broadcasts planned, which are probably necessary given the underachievement of the team so far this summer. This coming week, NESN will pay tribute to the Green Monster, with Monday's broadcast originating from the Monster Seats. That's worthwhile — it will give the broadcasters a chance to see the Sox from a different vantage point. But should the Red Sox continue their mediocre ways for the next few months, who would mind another broadcast or two that takes a look back? In throwing it back to 1975, NESN proved it can do nostalgia just right. Forsberg knows his stuff A few years back, a Celtics executive gave me his impromptu scouting reports on the media members who cover the team on a regular basis. The word on NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg was one of respect for the effort he puts in to understand the financial aspect of the NBA. 'He really has a great grasp on the salary cap,' the executive said. That's always stuck in my mind, and it has been proven true time and again over the past few weeks as the Celtics have shed popular players because of the dreaded penalties for being over the second apron. Forsberg's insight has been a welcome contrast on NBC Sports Boston to Michael Felger's disingenuous, predictable, and misleading 'the owners are being cheap' narrative. Advertisement Chad Finn can be reached at
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Panthers re-signing Nosek as they continue to bring back Cup championship roster
The Florida Panthers already signed their top three pending free agents in Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand. Why stop there? The Panthers are also re-signing fourth-line forward Tomas Nosek to a one-year deal, with reports Tuesday morning saying the deal is for the league minimum $775,000. Once the deal is official, the Panthers will have all 12 forwards from their Stanley Cup-clinching Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers — plus reserves Jesper Boqvist and Mackie Samoskevich — under contract, plus five of their six defensemen from that game and starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. For now, at least. The deals to bring back Bennett, Ekblad, Marchand and Nosek have the Panthers about $1 million over the salary cap before factoring in salaries for restricted free agents Samoskevich and goaltender Daniil Tarasov. Florida is able to be up to 10 percent above the $95.5 million cap during the offseason but need to be cap compliant by the start of the season. They can get there either by trading away players currently on the roster or by utilizing long-term injured reserve once the season begins. That's for another time. With Nosek, the Panthers bring back a steady fourth-line center who was instrumental on the team's penalty kill. Nosek only played in 59 regular season games for Florida last season, missing time early due to injury and then being a healthy scratch at points down the stretch after Florida acquired Marchand and Nico Sturm at the trade deadline. But he was pivotal during Florida's playoff run, with coach Paul Maurice crediting Nosek's line with A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich on the wings as being the spark the team needed to win Game 3 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs after the team dropped the first two games of that series. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL free agents 2025: Ranking best players available
The biggest question as the NHL heads to free agency on July 1 is who will be left. Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, was re-signed by the Florida Panthers before the NHL draft on an eight-year, $64 million deal. Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares also left money on the table with a four-year deal averaging $4.38 million per year. Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux and Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn each signed bonus-laden one-year deals to stay with their teams. Advertisement Matt Duchene is also back with the Stars, trade deadline acquisition Trent Frederic re-signed with the Edmonton Oilers for eight years, and Chicago Blackhawks leading goal scorer Ryan Donato is sticking around. Jonathan Toews already decided on the Winnipeg Jets for his NHL comeback. And now reports out of Canada say the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights are discussing the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal involving Toronto's Mitch Marner. If that happens, it would take the top free agent off the market. Panthers general manager Bill Zito is still hoping he can bring back Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad. Here are the NHL's top pending unrestricted free agents with the salary cap going up: 1. Forward Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs The team that signs him will get a prolific scorer. He had a career-best 102 points last season and three other 90-point seasons, all with Toronto. The postseason is another story. The Maple Leafs have been to the second round only twice during his nine years with the team. The Leafs aren't likely to want to lose him for nothing so look for them to trade his rights. 2. Forward Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers He was shockingly traded to the Panthers in March, then put together a playoff to remember with 10 goals. Six of those were in the Stanley Cup Final as he made some spectacular moves. Brad Marchand lifts the Stanley Cup after the Panthers' Game 6 victory against the Oilers. 3. Forward Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets The speedster is a consistent 20-goal scorer and could get more in a place that plays him more than 16 minutes a game. 4. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers Ekblad is the franchise's top-scoring defenseman after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2014. He led Panthers defensemen in playoff scoring despite missing four games with suspensions, including two at the tail end of a 20-game PED ban. He has expressed an interest in returning. 5. Forward Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks He was a 40-goal scorer in 2023-24. He, like the team, dropped off last season, but he still scored 25 goals, his sixth season of 20 or more. 6. Forward Mikael Granlund, Dallas Stars Granlund played well on Dallas' all-Finland line after arriving in a trade from the Sharks. He plays on the power play and penalty kill and had a hat trick in the second round. 7. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles Kings The shutdown defenseman averaged more than 23 minutes a game, had a career-best plus-26 rating and scored 30 points (second best in career). 8. Forward Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings He's no longer the prolific scorer he was earlier in his career, but he has topped 20 goals in the two seasons since he returned from hip surgery. 9. Forward Pius Suter, Vancouver Canucks He'll draw interest after a 25-goal season, 10 more than his prior career best. 10. Defenseman Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets He averages 23 minutes a game, kills penalties and gets power play time. Fellow Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro signed a four-year, $16.5 million deal on June 29. 11. Goaltender Jake Allen, New Jersey Devils There aren't a lot of free agent goalies out there. Allen had a steady 2.66 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 29 starts while serving as Jacob Markstrom's backup. 12. Defenseman Nate Schmidt, Florida Panthers He had been bought out by the Winnipeg Jets and rejoined former coach Paul Maurice in Florida. He was a key contributor in the Panthers' run with three goals in their first two playoff games. 13. Forward Connor Brown, Edmonton Oilers He showed in Edmonton that he can move up and down the lineup. Teams will appreciate that type of versatility. 14. Forward Andrei Kuzmenko, Los Angeles Kings Kuzmenko bounced around a lot after scoring 39 goals in his first NHL season in 2022-23. He played for three teams this past season and finished strong with the Kings. 15. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Pittsburgh Penguins He's coming off a career-best 39 assists and 40 points. 16. Forward Jonathan Drouin, Colorado Avalanche He had 93 points in his two seasons with Colorado, but missed nearly half the season in 2024-25 with injuries. 17. Defenseman Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes He's 40 and his scoring numbers have dropped, but he still can play a lot of minutes. He hasn't missed a game since the 2013-14 season. 18. Forward Corey Perry, Edmonton Oilers He's also 40 but still had 10 playoff goals this season. Even though he has come up short in five recent trips to the Stanley Cup Final, he does get to the championship round. He won in 2007. 19. Forward Evgenii Dadonov, Dallas Stars He scored 20 goals but had diminished ice time in the playoffs, including some scratches. 20. Forward Christian Dvorak, Montreal Canadiens He kills penalties, wins faceoffs and is usually good for double digits in goals. (This story has been updated with new information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL free agents rankings 2025: Best players available to sign
