Evander Kane makes stunning career decision after 1,001 NHL games
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Evander Kane will play the 2026-27 season in the KHL, agent Dan Milstein confirmed, adding a deal with a team is very close and should come within days.
Evander Kane is leaving North America.
His agent, Dan Milstein, told Daily Faceoff Insider on Wednesday that the 35-year-old forward will play this season in the KHL, and an official announcement should land within the next couple of days.
Milstein said Kane had a couple of options in North America, but he picked Russia anyway.
"Evander Kane decided to take his talents to Russia."
- Dan Milstein
- Dan Milstein
No NHL club signed him after his four-year, $20.5 million contract expired at the end of last season.
A path through six NHL teams
The Atlanta Thrashers took Kane fourth overall in 2009, and he reached the NHL at 18.
He moved with the franchise when it became the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, then got traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015.
The San Jose Sharks were next in 2018, followed by the Edmonton Oilers in 2022, where he helped the club reach two Stanley Cup Finals.
He scored 30 goals twice, first with the Jets in 2011-12 and again with the Sharks in 2018-19.
He also added 32 playoff goals in 97 postseason games.
A rough ending in Vancouver
Edmonton sent the Vancouver native home to the Canucks in June 2025 for a fourth-round pick, but the hometown return never clicked.
He finished with 13 goals and 31 points in 71 games and a minus-20 rating, though he did score in his 1,000th NHL game back in March.
Across 1,001 NHL games, Kane piled up 339 goals and 309 assists.
The KHL club hasn't been named yet, but Milstein made it clear the deal is very close.
Hockey fans will find out soon where one of the league's more talked-about forwards lands.
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