Evander Kane

[DepressedSharksFan]

Does anyone think Meier and Kane got into it? Maybe Kane did something to Meier, then Meier realized the Sharks organization wouldn't do anything about it, so then he started to play lazy and not care anymore.

Also would make sense that Meier was on the trade block, along with Kane.

 

[Lebanezer]

It's not that I don't like Doug as a person. It's that every significant move he has made in the last five years has backfired spectacularly but he still seems to skate by as if nothing is his fault. He has had this job for 18 years with zero rings to show for it and it's well past time to move on. This latest embarrassment with Kane should be the final straw but I'm sure it's yet another thing he can spin to Hasso as a totally unforeseeable event that derailed what would have been a great season.

Given the current situation, and only analyzing the situation using hindsight, the moves look objectively terrible. However, if you take context into perspective, when the moves were made, they were all calculated risks that helped the team at the time. The fact that things have gone so freaking bad the past 2 seasons is very unfortunate, but so many different events have taken place it's really hard to put it all on DW.

Again, I'm not absolving DW of blame, He obviously is a big reason why everything sucks right now. I'm happy to blame him for a lot of the mistakes his made, but I'm not going to blame him for taking chances that just didn't work out. He has a chance to fix this mess, and ultimately, I think that's what will decide his fate.

 

[themelkman]

Given the current situation, and only analyzing the situation using hindsight, the moves look objectively terrible. However, if you take context into perspective, when the moves were made, they were all calculated risks that helped the team at the time. The fact that things have gone so freaking bad the past 2 seasons is very unfortunate, but so many different events have taken place it's really hard to put it all on DW.

Again, I'm not absolving DW of blame, He obviously is a big reason why everything sucks right now. I'm happy to blame him for a lot of the mistakes his made, but I'm not going to blame him for taking chances that just didn't work out. He has a chance to fix this mess, and ultimately, I think that's what will decide his fate.

I think this Kane thing is really going to change things up. Losing a top six forward is very hard considering what’s left on the market. If your not getting Dvorak or Tatar, your not getting a replacement top six forward, and then your playing 3 risks out of 6 top six guys which just isn’t a thing playoff teams do.

 

[polmaniac932]

This applies to several posters in this thread. Kane is a good player. A damn good one. And he was one when he was brought over.

Retroactively painting his acquisition as bad, let alone terrible, is so much BS.

What you might not realize is that those who think the trade was bad might agree with the bolded.

 

[Painful Quandary]

Does anyone think Meier and Kane got into it? Maybe Kane did something to Meier, then Meier realized the Sharks organization wouldn't do anything about it, so then he started to play lazy and not care anymore.

Also would make sense that Meier was on the trade block, along with Kane.

Meier was on the trade block because he is a good player on a fair contract and was playing disinterested, and it was likely in reference to get a higher pick in this last draft because the organization was high on Eklund and may have made a play for Berniers. The Meier trade talk is mainly wishcasting by fans who want to trade him to jumpstart a rebuild.

 

[polmaniac932]

This is just adding more fuel to the blow it all up route. I think it's perfectly reasonable to blame all involved here. Kane is certainly causing issues but Boughner and DW letting it go on is also a huge problem that needs to be addressed. Letting that slide in the name of competition and not really doing anything but maybe getting rid of Kane isn't going to get at the heart of that issue. The issue being that the coach and GM do not hold players to the same standard. That kind of shit will stick with this team for as long as Boughner is the coach at a minimum and more likely as long as DW is GM for creating this environment on both the coaching and player's end. I agree with placing some blame at Couture's feet as well for not successfully keeping Kane in line. It may have been an unfair ask to begin with given his leadership abilities but it is a captain's job to get buy-in from his teammates and if his actions are contributing to a toxic atmosphere due to not successfully holding others accountable then he's not doing his job either. The same applies for Burns, Karlsson, and Hertl too as they are designated leaders on the team. How much responsibility is on their shoulders is up for debate and what to do about it is as well but it's hard to imagine any of this improving without significant upheaval from the top (DW) on down.

I'm so curious how different things would have been had Thornton stayed on the team? Based on previous accounts he seemed pretty willing at times to call teammates out. I know they had a year (or 2?) of overlap, but curious if Kane was ever able to get away with some of this stuff earlier in his tenure here.

I agree this recent article from Sheng, if it paints the right picture, is very damning of Boughner. It also fits the massive red flag that was highlighted by Kurz earlier last season when—after an entire summer of talk of this "Sharks Code"—no one stood up for each other when a teammate got the brunt of a dirty hit or injured.

Couture is totally part of this. I don't care what your leadership style is; you have a responsibility to take meaningful action when stuff like this happens. I feel he's revealed a lot about how he responds to criticism on social media, and wouldn't be surprised if he is as sensitive and averse to conflict as his tweets have suggested.

IIRC, years ago a few Predators players had shown up late to practice prior to a playoff game, I want to say one of them was Radulov (or some other top player of theirs). Preds management benched them for the game. It took balls to do that and I'm sure that sent a strong message of what is expected of the team, even when winning is on the line.. What baffles me the most about the Kane situation, assuming the reporting is accurate, is that DW and Boughner were so unwilling to hold a line with Kane during a season as bad as this past one was. Just seems like such a terrible response (or lack thereof)

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

Meier playing lazy and disinterested. Blatantly abandoning the game plan BB has in place routinely, is on him and him alone. Be a damn professional. Furthermore, if Kanes locker room conduct is causing that much of a reverberating effect, he needs to go immediately.

 

[Lebanezer]

I think this Kane thing is really going to change things up. Losing a top six forward is very hard considering what’s left on the market. If your not getting Dvorak or Tatar, your not getting a replacement top six forward, and then your playing 3 risks out of 6 top six guys which just isn’t a thing playoff teams do.

I think losing Kane, if it happens, is a blessing in disguise. The Sharks can wield that cap space in a lot of different ways. If they can address their center depth in the top 6, they have plenty of wings to plug in that project as top 9 players. Go big and try to get Eichel and take Skinner as well so you don't have to give up Eklund and any non-lottery protected 1sts. If that's not possible, I would gladly trade for Tarasenko and STL's 1st or 2nd or high end prospects, or some other cap dump if it comes with quality assets. Tarasenko could fill in for Kane. We've seen other teams weaponize cap space, and Doug should do that too.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I'm so curious how different things would have been had Thornton stayed on the team? Based on previous accounts he seemed pretty willing at times to call teammates out. I know they had a year (or 2?) of overlap, but curious if Kane was ever able to get away with some of this stuff earlier in his tenure here.

I agree this recent article from Sheng, if it paints the right picture, is very damning of Boughner. It also fits the massive red flag that was highlighted by Kurz earlier last season when—after an entire summer of talk of this "Sharks Code"—no one stood up for each other when a teammate got the brunt of a dirty hit or injured.

Couture is totally part of this. I don't care what your leadership style is; you have a responsibility to take meaningful action when stuff like this happens. I feel he's revealed a lot about how he responds to criticism on social media, and wouldn't be surprised if he is as sensitive and averse to conflict as his tweets have suggested.

IIRC, years ago a few Predators players had shown up late to practice prior to a playoff game, I want to say one of them was Radulov (or some other top player of theirs). Preds management benched them for the game. It took balls to do that and I'm sure that sent a strong message of what is expected of the team, even when winning is on the line.. What baffles me the most about the Kane situation, assuming the reporting is accurate, is that DW and Boughner were so unwilling to hold a line with Kane during a season as bad as this past one was. Just seems like such a terrible response (or lack thereof)

Yes and Washington sat Ovechkin for a game for missing a meeting because he overslept. It's perfectly in bounds for a team to shut a player down for breaking team rules. They simply decided not to for competitive reasons and now the players are at odds with one another because their expectations of accountability are being met with excuses. A lot of things can be attributed to this sort of attitude from management to players including Meier's perceived lack of interest. Labanc had lulls in motivation for lengthy stretches as well. Could Jones had decided to not give a shit about performance because of this? It's possible but if you want to put an end to this really, Hasso has to step in. If he doesn't, it's just going to be more of the same. Results mean more than the process, being professional, and management being willing to put their credibility at risk over it is even more damning.

Team needs to clean house if even just a portion of this is true.

 

[TheBeard]

Given the current situation, and only analyzing the situation using hindsight, the moves look objectively terrible. However, if you take context into perspective, when the moves were made, they were all calculated risks that helped the team at the time. The fact that things have gone so freaking bad the past 2 seasons is very unfortunate, but so many different events have taken place it's really hard to put it all on DW.

I mean on the ice, it's hard not to acknowledge the trade was a resounding success.

 

[DepressedSharksFan]

Boughner sucks

 

[polmaniac932]

Yes and Washington sat Ovechkin for a game for missing a meeting because he overslept. It's perfectly in bounds for a team to shut a player down for breaking team rules. They simply decided not to for competitive reasons and now the players are at odds with one another because their expectations of accountability are being met with excuses. A lot of things can be attributed to this sort of attitude from management to players including Meier's perceived lack of interest. Labanc had lulls in motivation for lengthy stretches as well. Could Jones had decided to not give a shit about performance because of this? It's possible but if you want to put an end to this really, Hasso has to step in. If he doesn't, it's just going to be more of the same. Results mean more than the process, being professional, and management being willing to put their credibility at risk over it is even more damning.

Team needs to clean house if even just a portion of this is true.

I think where I differ is the need for cleaning house. Honestly, even though I am shakier on DW now than I had been before, I still don't know that I blame him to the point of wanting him fired. So far it seems a lot of this is hearsay and who knows what the reality of the situation is. In my eyes, he keeps his job if he finds a way to get EK9 off the team.

 

[Lebanezer]

I mean on the ice, it's hard not to acknowledge the trade was a resounding success.

I was speaking about all the moves in the past 5 years, not just the Kane trade.

 

[spintops]

Would a team send us a cap dump + capital for Kane? Worst case scenario you can terminate his contract and you moved a bad contract. Best case, you moved a bad contract for a top line winger.


(I don't think this is great for the sharks, but I would take a 1-2 year cap dump with draft capital over nothing, because without Kane we are for sure a lottery team)

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I think where I differ is the need for cleaning house. Honestly, even though I am shakier on DW now than I had been before, I still don't know that I blame him to the point of wanting him fired. So far it seems a lot of this is hearsay and who knows what the reality of the situation is. In my eyes, he keeps his job if he finds a way to get EK9 off the team.

Yeah I'm not optimistic about turning this sort of thing around with the current management.

 

[TheBeard]

I was speaking about all the moves in the past 5 years, not just the Kane trade.

I honestly don’t think there were nearly as many egregiously bad moves as many others. Outside of the Vlasic and EK extensions I don’t think anything was horrible.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I just don't see a way you bring him back after all of this. Even if things come back clean, its a messy situation in the locker room. There will ALWAYS be questions and doubts from here on out about Kanes overall integrity which is unfortunate.

 

[Hodge]

Kane's on-ice impact is being drastically overrated on the basis of a career year in one of the most abnormal seasons of all time where he got to play almost 50% of his schedule against LA, Anaheim and Arizona. Let's not forget he was getting benched late into the 19-20 season for being a liability with all his selfish penalties. Even if he stays in the league it's a safe bet (ha ha) he will never have this strong of a season again.

 

[DG93]

This might have been the worst acquisition in the franchise's history.

Granted, Kane was excellent this season; a meaningless one. When the chips were on the table, Kane had some very forgettable playoff performances. In exchange, the Sharks lost a first-round pick that arguably ended up being Stutzle, 7 million in cap space, and took on an apparent locker-room cancer who might have been subtraction by addition.

I'm sure DW is happy. If this season ends in disappointment, he has a convenient scapegoat!

1) The bolded...I see you, ON4
2) Kane should be off the team if those reports about his teammates wanting him gone are true...it sucks because he's a great player, but he should be outta here.

 

[Sharksrule04]

This applies to several posters in this thread. Kane is a good player. A damn good one. And he was one when he was brought over.

Retroactively painting his acquisition as bad, let alone terrible, is so much BS.

People like to tie very extensive strings to every move to support their argument. Fact is the Sharks gave up a CONDITIONAL first round pick (ended up being 29th overall) for a top line forward in his 20’s. In no way is that a bad trade. Spare us your butterfly effect nonsense.

 

[Sharksrule04]

Kane's on-ice impact is being drastically overrated on the basis of a career year in one of the most abnormal seasons of all time where he got to play almost 50% of his schedule against LA, Anaheim and Arizona. Let's not forget he was getting benched late into the 19-20 season for being a liability with all his selfish penalties. Even if he stays in the league it's a safe bet (ha ha) he will never have this strong of a season again.

While I’m not sure I want Kane on the team, you have zero basis for this. You going use stats from 8 years ago to prove last season was a fluke? He’s been a top 6 forward at worst with the Sharks and a team MVP at best.

 

[Hodge]

While I’m not sure I want Kane on the team, you have zero basis for this. You going use stats from 8 years ago to prove last season was a fluke? He’s been a top 6 forward at worst with the Sharks and a team MVP at best.

My basis for saying it is that before this anomaly season he was a career 55-60 point player. Yes those are top 6 forward numbers but they're also not exactly irreplaceable. Especially considering he's 30 years old and far more likely to decline than improve going forward. When you add that to the documented off-ice issues and weigh it against the remaining salary and term commitment it would be a net positive to have his contract terminated.

 

[Bizz]

The Sharks have nothing to gain by keeping him on the team if the report of his teammates wanting him gone are true. He's a good player but he's not irreplaceable.

 

[WTFetus]

While I’m not sure I want Kane on the team, you have zero basis for this. You going use stats from 8 years ago to prove last season was a fluke? He’s been a top 6 forward at worst with the Sharks and a team MVP at best.

Kane is a definite Top-6 forward on a Cup contending team, but he’s reportedly a bad teammate and even just a questionable human based on these reports. I 100% don’t want him on the team.

 

[tiburon12]

It's not that I don't like Doug as a person. It's that every significant move he has made in the last five years has backfired spectacularly but he still seems to skate by as if nothing is his fault. He has had this job for 18 years with zero rings to show for it and it's well past time to move on. This latest embarrassment with Kane should be the final straw but I'm sure it's yet another thing he can spin to Hasso as a totally unforeseeable event that derailed what would have been a great season.

Teams that have won since DW's first full season:

Tampa, Carolina, Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, LA, Washington, St Louis. 10 teams in 17 seasons. Using the "no rings" argument fails to recognize how few teams, players, executive staff actually win. It's fair to criticize his bad deals the last 5 years, but to dismiss his ability to win a cup when so few teams have won is picking spoiled, low-hanging fruit.

For the record, I've been pretty disappointed with the moves he has made since the Kane trade. That said, I also think he has handcuffed himself with and to the team, meaning that he can't make any drastic moves and that anyone replacing him won't be able to do better. That also means that constantly complaining about DW and his moves while offering no substantial solutions has grown incredibly tiresome to sift through on this site.