Evander Kane - What’s the Issue?

[brentashton]

Great player from the neck down, but has absolutely massive character issues. Guy's just a giant scumbag on and off the ice, and wears out his welcome everywhere he goes. The Oilers having zero leadership on the ice to keep him in line doesn't help either.

You know this ….how?

 

[Senor Catface]

Yeah, let's all rush to get opinions from a Canucks fan who has notifications set for "Edmonton" and "Oilers" keywords.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Yeah, let's all rush to get opinions from a Canucks fan who has notifications set for "Edmonton" and "Oilers" keywords.

That's about as useful as a poopy flavored popsicle.

 

[Oleksiak]

You know this ….how?

Well their captain is a gutless coward who refuses to backcheck and throws tantrums every time the ref doesn't fall for one of his dives. When you have a locker room cancer wearing the C, it's a reasonable assumption that leadership is a problem.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Hes one of the most one dimensional players in the NHL. If he’s not scoring, he’s pretty much useless. He only wants to be on the top line to play with McDavid so he can pad his stats. Cries like a baby when he has to play with anyone else and when he doesn’t get things his way he takes cheap shots at opposing players. One of the dirtiest players in the NHL who uses his stick as a weapon. Should be charged with manslaughter.

 

[GOilers88]

I recommend half of you go watch the last few games. He's been playing just fine throwing the body and bringing energy. He set the f***in tone in the LA game right away by pasting Doughty.

As was pointed out, his production is pretty normal and was never a talking point before. Why is this thread suddenly a thing? There's literally been no issues with him since he got to Edmonton. He's been upstanding dare I say. Obviously his past transgressions are well documented, but nothing of the sort has occurred in Edmonton so why has he suddenly worn out his welcome? He was a solid asset in the playoffs a couple seasons ago, and suffered a major wrist injury last year. No doubt in my mind he brings it in the playoffs this year, whether he's scoring or not.

We've seen all the Oilers get pissy this year, and for good reason with the ups and downs.

 

[brentashton]

Well their captain is a gutless coward who refuses to backcheck and throws tantrums every time the ref doesn't fall for one of his dives. When you have a locker room cancer wearing the C, it's a reasonable assumption that leadership is a problem.

That’s your subjective assessment unless you can provide some additional, factual support. I don’t take issue with people making assertions or debating but perhaps backing it up with some facts would be helpful. Otherwise it’s just blather.

 

[Mav3rick07]

Hes one of the most one dimensional players in the NHL. If he’s not scoring, he’s pretty much useless. He only wants to be on the top line to play with McDavid so he can pad his stats. Cries like a baby when he has to play with anyone else and when he doesn’t get things his way he takes cheap shots at opposing players. One of the dirtiest players in the NHL who uses his stick as a weapon. Should be charged with manslaughter.

He's one of the league leaders in hits per game, the Oilers don't just rely on him to score goals lol Especially come playoff time.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Evander takes his girlfriend on a shopping spree when he signs a new contract. Looks like they were in LA.

 

[Oleksiak]

That’s your subjective assessment unless you can provide some additional, factual support. I don’t take issue with people making assertions or debating but perhaps backing it up with some facts would be helpful. Otherwise it’s just blather.

It's pretty clear from watching him play that McDiver cares more about inflating his stats than winning. If you think that's acceptable for a captain, that's on you. That being said, a captain with serious character issues like that is going to struggle to hold teammates accountable.

 

[brentashton]

It's pretty clear from watching him play that McDiver cares more about inflating his stats than winning. If you think that's acceptable for a captain, that's on you. That being said, a captain with serious character issues like that is going to struggle to hold teammates accountable.

So no facts eh? It’s useless to have a real conversation when there isn’t any support for hot takes.

 

[pi314]

What makes him a "clown"?

Make up, juggling, and terrifying kids at birthday parties.

 

[Senor Catface]

So no facts eh? It’s useless to have a real conversation when there isn’t any support for hot takes.

His girlfriend left him for McDavid. Be kind.

 

[brentashton]

His girlfriend left him for McDavid. Be kind.

I would too.

 

[EpochLink]

I haven't heard anything bad from him this year, not sure why this thread was made

 

[Toby91ca]

His performance isn’t all that different from his career norms…looking at the first playoff with Edmonton…15 game sample when he was on a hot streak….expecting replication would be unreasonable.

 

[T REX]

Man if you’re still defining him from shit from over 6 year ago then I don’t know what to say. Dude has kept his head down and kept himself out of the headlines. It’s just unfortunate that age coupled with his physicality has slowed his game down significantly.

Serious question...so what exactly is the cutoff date for past transgressions?

1 year? 2? 3? 3.33?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

He was red hot when he arrived in Edmonton from San Jose. Especially in the playoffs that year when he scored 13 goals in 15 games. But we all knew that rate wasn’t sustainable.

 

[Skolman]

The media and courts.

The courts?

Well their captain is a gutless coward who refuses to backcheck and throws tantrums every time the ref doesn't fall for one of his dives. When you have a locker room cancer wearing the C, it's a reasonable assumption that leadership is a problem.

This might be one of the most laughable/clueless posts I've seen on HF

 

[GreeningOil]

Great logic. I never witnessed Jeffrey Dahmer do anything offside, either. So what?

Well, since Kane is a circus animal (pro athlete/ celebrity) with cameras around him a lot of the time I think you’re making quite the invalid point.

 

[Chet Manley]

His performance isn’t all that different from his career norms…looking at the first playoff with Edmonton…15 game sample when he was on a hot streak….expecting replication would be unreasonable.

His shot is definitely not the same after that injury.

 

[The Panther]

(Since the OP was asking Oilers' fans' opinions):

I'm basically happy with Kane's performance (until the past month or so), and also I'm okay with the deal Holland gave him. I mean, these contracts for veterans are always a bit longer than you'd like, but they obviously thought they needed the nasty power-forward type (which they indeed did), so they locked him down.

In Kane's first 82 RS games with Edmonton, he scored 37 goals, had 66 points, and went +20. So, that's terrific. What's more, 92% of his goals in this period were even-strength or short-handed. So, for a full season's worth at least, he was exceeding expectations.

The '22 playoffs were outstanding, with 13 goals in the 15 games, many of them of the "important" variety.

He was off to a good start in 2022-23 before the wrist injury. He did seem 'off' a bit when he finally came back, but it seemed to me that after an expected period of getting back up to speed and getting the wrist working again, he was fine. Overall, he still scored at a 32-goal pace in 2022-23, so he was still getting it done. Playoffs were disappointing, though.

This season has been weird. Very early in the year, when the Oilers sucked big-time, he was good. From game 6 to game 21, he scored 11 goals and 19 points in 15 games! If the wrist was bothering him, he wasn't showing it then.

But, since then, he's been way off offensively: 10 goals in 49 games, and currently in the longest goal-less streak of his entire career!

The thing is, I don't think any Oiler fans care if he scores again this season or not. We just expect him to bring some juice in the playoffs. If he does that, no one's going to remember his slump this year. If he doesn't and they go down in the 2nd round or whatever, I personally think they'll try to move him out, with a trade / buyout / whatever.

There's a "power forward-itis" that tends to hit these big, good-but-limited-skill offensive guys when they get to 31, 32, 33... But, for now, I continue to give Kane the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Guy has the stat line of Warren Foegele with the price tag of a top pair Dmen that's what happened

And this;



And this



Oilers fans will tell you it's all good tho

 

[UpHere]

I haven't heard anything bad from him this year, not sure why this thread was made

c'mon... you know why - it rhymes with Edmonton Oilers - brings all the fantastic, knowledgeable posters out

 

[pekka55]

Serious question...so what exactly is the cutoff date for past transgressions?

1 year? 2? 3? 3.33?

The thing is that people don't really change. If you've been an asshole for 20+ years of your life, then you're not going to magically change.