Whether or not he opts to have surgery or is dealt to another team, it seems like Winnipeg Jets forward, former Vancouver Giant and local kid Evander Kane has played his last game in a Jets uniform.
The situation is complicated and got even more complicated with news breaking on Thursday that Kane failed to report to Tuesday night’s game in Vancouver following an incident with teammates.
From a Vancouver Canucks perspective, acquiring Kane would be difficult even if the club did have interest (which is far from clear). If the Jets are selling though, the Canucks have to be in on the bidding.
Let’s get into why.
There are always reasons not to acquire a player who is being shopped. If there weren’t, that player wouldn’t be available.
Kane has a reputation for enjoying the good life, and while he’s absolutely been a target of latent discrimination, that reputation isn’t entirely unearned. Whether it’s the trips to Vegas, making money phone calls on his not-smart phone, stacking cash on his back for resistance in workouts – this side of Kane’s personality, which I find fun personally, has to be seen as a bit of a red flag for an organization like the Canucks.
This is an organization that has dealt the likes of Shane O’Brien and Ryan Kesler in recent years, in part because of work ethic or chemistry issues. They gave up on Kyle Wellwood. It seems like Zack Kassian is on his way out.
The Canucks clearly prize professionalism, and at the moment, whether it’s fair or not, Kane has a disruptive reputation.
He’s also dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that will reportedly require surgery this offseason.
Finally Kane is signed for three more seasons after this one to a contract that will pay him $18 million in salary through the 2019 season, after which he’ll become an unrestricted free-agent. The deal carries a manageable $5.25 million annual average value, but that’s a big ticket for a player who hasn’t really demonstrated that he’s a consistent 20 goal guy.
When you consider Vancouver’s salary cap situation, Kane’s contract might not really fit. Not counting Eddie Lack, Vancouver currently has nearly $54 million committed to 13 players for next season, and that’s with a variety of key pending free agents to sign (including Chris Tanev, Frank Corrado, Shawn Matthias, Derek Dorsett, Brad Richardson, and Luca Sbisa).
With the salary cap unlikely to go up – personally I think there’s a chance it will diminish, because I don’t see the NHLPA voting in favour of the escalator following a season in which escrow was bumped to 16 percent – that doesn’t leave the club with a lot of space to add a $5.25 million second-line forward.
Even with all of those compelling reasons not to chase Kane, this team still absolutely should. 23-year-old power forwards who generate shot volume and manufacture goals at an elite rate don’t come available everyday, or ever.
Vancouver has a decent prospect system, and has done well to restock their once-barren cupboard somewhat over the past couple of years. There aren’t any guys with Kane-like potential on the come up though.
Finally, the Canucks’ current management team has their hands tied to some extent. They’re instructed to rebuild on the fly while making the postseason year after year. It’s nearly impossible to add top-end talent without relying on high draft picks, but one way you can do it, is by gambling on young players who’ve fallen out of favour with their current organization for whatever reason.
As we’ve seen in Ottawa with Kyle Turris, or in Dallas with Tyler Seguin – this approach can pay dividends.
So if the Jets are listening on Kane, and listening hard, this is an opportunity Jim Benning and the Canucks simply can’t afford to pass up. Kane is the sort of talent that could instantly change the complexion of an organization with significant top-six issues – both in the present, and in the future.
