San Jose Sharks star Evander Kane was suspended for 21-games without pay for violating the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols by submitting a fake vaccination card.
“It’s not ideal, but there is an ongoing investigation from the NHL,” said general manager Doug Wilson. “The focus has to be on our group here, the guys that are here today and the things that we can control, but also respect the process of dealing with some very serious allegations and some things that need to be addressed with the right process.”
Kane was suspended in October and placed on waivers by the Sharks. After completing the 21-game suspension on Sunday, he was demoted to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracudas, when no other NHL organization wanted to trade for him.
“I look forward to whatever is to come here in the next week or so,” he said about returning to the ice, but refrained from commenting on the vaccination card scandal. “You’ll have to refer to the NHL statement. I served my time, did my 21 games, and now I’m back.”
Kane is reportedly completely vaccinated and is three years into a seven year contract for $49 million, the Sharks will likely have to payout some of his $7 million annual salary to facilitate a trade.
His pro teammates reportedly don’t want the embattled winger back in the locker room, which Kane seemed surprised to hear.
“It’s funny: I had my end of the year meeting last year and it was all positive, positive, positive. But apparently something happened over the summer that I wasn’t aware of. It was all new to me and news to me. It was interesting,” he remarked.
The NHL is investigating the COVID protocol breach after recently completing a probe into allegations made by Kane’s estranged wife, Anna Kane, who accused the athlete of domestically abusing her and fixing hockey games for financial gain.
The investigation concluded when the NFL determined the allegations “could not be substantiated.” Kane maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, which occurred during the 2021-2022 offseason.
“I didn’t lose any sleep over it. It was definitely not great to be associated with that at the time. But they investigated me heavily, interviewed a bunch of different people and found what they found, which is nothing,” he commented. “Anybody who’s played with me or coached me knows how competitive I am, so that would probably be the last thing that anyone would suspect.”
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