The Edmonton Oilers are ready to sign free agent Evander Kane to a one-year contract worth $750,000. This deal with the Oilers expires at the end of the season. Kane will also have a full no movement clause and a signing bonus. This is the first time in his career where he has ever been a free agent, receiving multi-year extensions and being traded before they could expire.
Evander Kane is set to sign with the Edmonton Oilers, according to reports https://t.co/j1DVbKdIuV
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 27, 2022
Report: Evander Kane Signs with Edmonton
Drafted third overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009, Kane has put up a career total of 264 goals, 242 assists, and 988 penalty minutes in 769 games for the Thrashers, Jets, Sabres, and Sharks.
He has also had a very controversial career in the NHL, spending five and a half seasons with the Thrashers/Jets before being traded after feuding with several teammates. After a short three-year stint with the Sabres where he continued to pull more controversial stunts, he was flipped to San Jose where he remained until 2022. He sat out at the beginning of this season due to a string of off-ice legal issues, which included unpaid gambling debts, issues with family, and failing to pay back loans which resulted in a publicized bankruptcy case.
After making his return to professional hockey, he played five games for the San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, before ultimately being released for violating COVID-19 protocols. Within those five games, he put up two goals, six assists, and eight points. The Barracuda currently sit 27th in the AHL standings and are dead last in the AHL’s Pacific Division. They have a record of 12-15-1-0 through 28 games this year.
What This Means for the Future
This may be the last attempt for Kane to prove he belongs in the NHL, before going overseas to play professionally, or ending his hockey career entirely. Maybe this is where he turns his career around with the Oilers.
Kane will likely have the chance to play in the team’s top-six forward group alongside Connor McDavid and/or Leon Draisaitl. It’s the chance of a lifetime for any player, one that could very well be Kane’s last.
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