Saturday Night Hockey: The Evander Kane Saga

Evander Kane Is Out

...for the season (and a good chance out of Winnipeg as well).

The 23 year old power forward is about to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. This comes on the heels of him showing up at a team meeting in a track suit, having said tracksuit tossed in the shower as a message, and calling in to say he'll miss that night's game.

At this point Kane needs a change of scenery, and a guy with his talent would have teams lining up to trade for him. During his time in Winnipeg (not including the Atlanta Thrasher era), he might only have scored 30 goals and 50 points once, but his underlying numbers have been positive. From stats on war-on-ice, Kane is good at driving shot attempts, having only one season (the lockout-shorted one) under 51.5% Corsi For. Even this year, he had a career high of 52.8% while having unfavourable zone starts. On a per-60 basis, Kane can play at a first (or at least second) line rate.

(data via ownthepuck.blogspot.ca)

Of course, I said would. The issues with Kane has always been is attitude, as highlighted by having his tracksuit thrown in the showers as a message. Granted, some of it may be overstated by the Winnipeg media, which hasn't been kind to him since day one. If teammates are sending a message though (both privately and publicly), it does indicate a shape-up-or-ship-out ultimatum. Probably the worst part for Kane is that teams are more likely to shy away from him and not give him a chance to show that this was just a one-off situation that is toxic.

The Jets (as a whole) suffer in all of this. I take shots at times by calling them the Atlanta Thrashers, but this team is having a good season and is poised to make the playoffs. As of writing, they do have a bit of a lead from some teams who are on the outside looking in in the wildcard race, but they have played the most games out of all Western Conference teams. Now they are missing a top line winger, and have to suffer with not getting close to the value a player like Kane would command when (not if) they go to trade him. There is not much to do now outside of hoping the Jets can make up for Kane's absence and that Kane gets a second chance with another team.

Lineup Notables

New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens

New Jersey: Stephen Gionta (hand), Ryane Clowe (concussion), Bryce Salvador (back), and Damon Severson (ankle) are out. Keith Kinkaid will start.
Montreal: Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (upper body) is out. Carey Price is in net.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Ottawa Senators

'Lumbus: Nathan Horton (back), Boone Jenner (back), Matt Calvert (illness), Jeremy Morin (heart-related), Brian Gibbons (knee), and Sergei BOBROVSKY (groin) are out. Curtis McElhinney might start.
Ottawa: Zack Smith (wrist), Alex Chiasson, and Craig Anderson (hand) are out. Robin Lehner will be in net.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

West Canada Futility: Taylor Hall (leg), Benoit Pouliot (foot), Tyler Pitlick (spleen), and Nikita Nikutin (shoulder) are out. Viktor Fasth will start.
East Canada Futility: Trevor Smith is out. James Reimer gets the start.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Vancouver Canucks

Pittsburgh: Pascal Dupuis (blood clot), Blake Comeau (wrist), Olli Maatta (illness), and Christian Erhroff (head) are out. Thomas Greiss starts tonight.
Vancouver: Brad Richardson (lower body), Kevin Bieksa (hand), are out while Chris Tanev (concussion) is questionable. Ryan Miller is expected to start.