As social media feuds and locker room allegations resurface, Evander Kane's refusal to let it go may be closing the door on his professional hockey career in the NHL.
Evander Kane returning to the Edmonton Oilers wasn't likely once the team traded him to the Vancouver Canucks. That ship appeared to have sailed, even though some reports hinted that it might be an option once his contract expired and he became a UFA again. But, as he sits waiting for a deal from a team as an unrestricted free agent in 2026, he's fighting multiple social media battles that hint he's realized he's likely not getting a deal from anyone.
It started this summer when Kane got into a bit of an online sparring match with Sportsnet's Mark Spector. Spector bowed out of the short-lived tiff when he saw the back-and-forth was getting out of hand. He ended the exchange with, "That’s quite a world you live in, Evander. Hope your summer goes well."
Things calmed down for a few weeks until a former teammate of Kane from the San Jose Sharks, Kurtis Gabriel, went on a Sharks podcast with journalist Sheng Peng and called Kane one of the most selfish and absurd teammates he'd ever had.
Gabriel told stories about Kane being late to meetings, not dressing appropriately, and making the Sharks' locker room extremely uncomfortable at the time. Later, he also described Kane cutting up teammates' sticks, boycotting shifts, and more.
Kane's response when the video went viral was, "I can’t wait for the day I decide to share “my truths.” The only difference? Mine will come with facts, receipts, and the actual truth. For now, I’ll simply say this: a lot of people have become far too comfortable speaking publicly while relying on my silence. Enjoy it while it lasts."
He also noted that his own stories would come with names attached, and he'd eventually share them. Gabriel dared Kane to come forward.
Why Does Any Of This Matter?
At the end of the day, the past is the past. But what these exchanges might be hinting at is that Kane's future in the NHL looks fairly bleak. In Edmonton's case, fair or not, if they ever considered reaching out to Kane again, it makes sense for the team to pivot after seeing all this.
This isn't the behavior of a player trying to be on his best behavior to attract a team. If Kane is holding out hope that an NHL club is going to offer him a UFA contract, logic suggests he's not getting involved in social media wars that keep his profile public for all the wrong reasons.
Gabriel said in one of his accounts during the interview, “It’s disgusting to me that a player can be talented and do that routinely and still have a job…. It just blows my mind because something like that completely alters a locker room. You want to talk about how guys build a great locker room? Someone like that kiboshes the whole mentality of the locker room."
Perhaps what Kane is doing now is evidence that Gabriel might have a point.
Kane is talented. He can score and he's an on-ice intimidator. When he's on his game, he's a useful player, one that the Edmonton Oilers found out first hand has some pretty solid qualities. However, he's got a tendency to talk when he might be better off lettting things be. Teams that are watching these exchanges with former players and media personalities have to be seeing red flags at every turn.
The Oilers, meanwhile, have their own locker room questions to answer. How will the team be with Mike Babcock as coach? Is this team going to bounce back from a subpar 2025-26 campaign?
What this team probably doesn't need is an Evander Kane-size distraction.
Ultimately, is this a hint that no one has called? Is Kane not getting any interest, not even a bite on a PTO as camps approach for NHL rosters? If that's true, he might feel as though he's got little to lose. It could explain his decision to engage in all of this drama publicly.
A team might have given Kane a chance. After seeing the tweets from the past few days, one has to assume clubs will be less inclined to take the risk. It might not be fair for Gabriel to bring up old wounds; Kane might have grown from those days as a player. But to take the low-hanging fruit and bite when the objective might have been to ruffle feathers feels like a bad move on Kane's part.
That doesn't mean he shouldn't have the right to defend himself. Plenty of Oilers fans have stood up and talked about how useful Kane was, as well as his contributions to the team and the community while he was in Edmonton. Those are all true.
Fans of Kane hope he gets another look. Maybe he does. But it feels like the need to respond when someone takes aim at his past isn't helping his cause. In fact, his willingness to post about a variety of controversial topics online has been a questionable tactic professionally for years.
That, along with his age and reduced production, have potentially caught up to him.
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