Plot thickens as both NHL and NHLPA comment on Kane

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Josh
January 8, 2022 (8:16 PM)

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The San Jose Sharks have placed Evander Kane on waivers for the purposed of terminating his contract. The Sharks claim that Kane breached his contract by traveling to Vancouver while positive for COVID-19. The Sharks claims this is a breach of the AHL COVID protocol and grounds for termination.

The NHLPA issued a response to the Sharks this afternoon through a tweet in their @NHLPA Twitter account.

We are aware of the San Jose Sharks' stated intent to terminate Evander Kane's contract.�The NHLPA intends to challenge any such action by filing a grievance.

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This is clearly a formality and likely a similar situation as to when the LA Kings tried to terminate Mike Richards contract after his arrest for possession of a controlled substance in 2015. The NHLPA will file their grievance in similar fashion, but it is highly unlikely anything will come from this especially after Bill Daly's comments this afternoon.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the following comments on the Kane situation.

"I can say we are satisfied that they have adequate grounds to terminate."

This situation is clearly heading for a hearing and given the handling of Jason Spezza's appeal it is unlikely to be a speedy process.