While Russian hockey fans are discussing the signing of a new contract by Kirill Kaprizov with Minnesota, as well as problems with recovering from the injury of Yevgeny Malkin, the scandal around Evander Kane continues to develop in the United States. In the past two months, the NHL has launched two investigations into the San Jose striker, both based on testimony from his wife, Anna. At first, she accused him of betting on his own matches, and then of domestic violence. Because of this, he is guaranteed to miss Sharks' training camps ahead of the regular season, and may subsequently be subject to more serious sanctions.
In early August, Kane's wife published a message on social networks, in which she personally turned to the Commissioner of the National Hockey League Gary Bettman.
In it, she called her husband a gambler and asked the head of the championship why he allows one of the players to bet money on matches with his own participation and make money on it.
The NHL quickly reacted to the appearance of this information and assured that they intend to conduct their own investigation.
At this point, Kane's position became extremely difficult.
After all, in fact, he was accused of not only placing bets on his own matches, but also handing over meetings.
Therefore, it is not surprising that this incident received a wide public response.
Subsequently, the club's management also made an official statement, supporting the intention to sort out the situation.
The Sharks contacted the NHL today about serious allegations against Evander Kane.
We support the intention to conduct a full and transparent investigation of this situation in order to maintain the integrity of our sport and the values of our club, ”reads the press release.
Then the striker himself commented on his position.
Kane admitted that he never made bets not only on meetings with his own participation, but also on hockey matches in general.
“Unfortunately, I would like to answer the absolutely false accusations made against me by my wife, with whom we have already separated and will soon divorce. Contrary to the advice of my lawyers, I believe that the public and fans should know my point of view. I never bet on hockey, never bet on Sharks, never bet on any hockey game, and never gave up games. The facts say that last season was the best and most stable in my career, and I am proud of that. I love hockey and would never do what I am accused of. I'm willing to cooperate with the league's investigation to clear my name. I'm looking forward to the new season, ”the NHL press service quotes the forward as saying.
However, Kane's words failed to have the desired effect on a number of his partners. According to The Athletic, several San Jose hockey players have expressed their unwillingness to play for the same team with a forward suspected of such actions. At the same time, information subsequently appeared that dissatisfaction with Evander had been accumulating throughout the season. Colleagues were unhappy with the fact that he was late for training sessions and matches, did not follow the dress code, which was personally reported to Sharks general manager Doug Wilson. However, he did not attach importance to this information.
And such loyalty is understandable.
At the end of last season, Kane became the team's top scorer with 49 (22 + 27) points in 56 meetings, surpassing Tomas Gertl (43) and Logan Couture with Timo Mayer (both 31).
Thus, he averaged 0.875 points per match - the best result in his career.
Only three times did the striker complete the regular season with a large number of points, but at the same time he played at least 70 games.
Perhaps this was the reason that Kane was forgiven for many of his actions.
For example, during the last championship, the striker allegedly nearly had a fight with assistant head coach Rocky Thompson.
The reason for the conflict was a dispute about where the hockey player was supposed to be during the majority draw.
Nevertheless, there were also those who sided with the athlete and advised not to make hasty conclusions until the end of the proceedings. One of these was his former Buffalo partner Robin Lehner, with whom they played three seasons together. According to the Swedish Vegas goalkeeper, Kane did make bets, but not on hockey games.
“I used to place bets. There is a lot of evidence of this. They have played a big role in my life for a number of years. I can say that I had problems with this in certain years during this period. At some moments they became aggravated ... It is very disappointing that everything turned out this way. It's a shame that absolutely false accusations were made. As soon as they appeared, I immediately realized how serious this is. I didn't know what would happen next, but I was confident in myself, because I firmly know that all this is not true. I always knew that none of her words were true, but I felt calm and confident, because I know that I will be acquitted, "the NHL press service quotes Kane.
In turn, ex-Sabers defender Alexei Zhitnik confirmed that there is a clause in the collective agreement between the NHL and the player's union (NHLPA) prohibiting betting on championship matches. He also noted that the Canadian's reputation and career have already suffered significant damage. At the same time, the renowned hockey player expressed doubt that suspicions about Kane would be confirmed.
“Could Kane have bet on his team's matches? I strongly doubt it. Hockey is not boxing or tennis, 40 people go out on the ice here, and it is simply impossible to achieve any result. In any case, in a decade and a half of playing in the NHL, I have not come across anything like this. In Europe, they say, such things are sometimes possible - in the NHL they are excluded. There is very tough competition in the league, dozens of people from the system apply for your place, any mistake can lead to the loss of a place in the main team, and, consequently, to the loss of a contract and a lot of money, "Russia-Hockey quotes Zhitnik.
It is noteworthy that Kane's problems did not end there. At the time of the investigation, he had to resign from the board of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, and later, in the Federal Court, the lawsuit against the striker by his former mistress Hope Parker was recognized as legitimate. According to her, she was three times pregnant from an athlete, but each time she had an abortion. Moreover, for the second of them, he allegedly paid her $ 125 thousand, and for the third he promised to transfer an amount from two to three million dollars. However, he subsequently refused to give the money and declared himself bankrupt.
As for the betting case, the official verdict was issued on 23 September.
The investigation was conducted by Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in conjunction with NHL security.
It is noted that in the course of it "data was analyzed, both face-to-face and remote interviews were conducted with the Sharks Club and other teams, including Mr. Kane himself."
At the same time, it is reported that the hockey player's wife refused to take part in it.
“The investigation has found no evidence to support Mrs. Kane's claims that Mr. Kane was betting or otherwise participating in such activities.
There was no evidence found to support the allegations that Mr. Kane was "giving up" games or not playing at full strength, "- said in the message.
At the same time, the NHL stated that suspicions arose in relation to Kane "of committing other misconduct related to the above case."
At the same time, the league refused to give any comments before the completion of the process.
According to Front Office Sports, the new investigation into Kane is again linked to his wife's allegations.
This time she spoke about numerous cases of domestic violence.
In turn, the athlete's lawyer Travis Krepelka said that he denied his guilt in every possible way and never allowed himself to be ill-treated towards both his wife and daughter Kensington.
It is noteworthy that a few weeks ago, Kane personally accused his wife of domestic violence.
According to the athlete, for the first time she hit him in 2019 during one of the quarrels, and subsequently these incidents were repeated several times.
So, in April 2021, a conflict occurred between them after the spouse checked his phone.
After that, she began to throw books at him, and also hit him several times on the head and face.