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Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane dined with FBI director Kash Patel on Saturday before the NHL team’s Sunday matinee against the Capitals in Washington.
“Great dinner and even better company,” Kane wrote above an Instagram photo of the newly acquired Canuck flanked by his fiancée, Mara Teigen, and Patel.
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Patel is a hockey fan and was seen sitting with Wayne Gretzky at the game where Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s career goal-scoring record in April.
But Kane’s post drew the ire of several fans objecting to him hobnobbing with a loyalist of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly mocked his northern neighbour as the “51st state” and said annexation would be good for the country.
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Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane with fiancée Mara Teigen and FBI director Kash Patel. Photo by Evander Kane /Instagram
“I was already embarrassed to have him on the team I support but this is a new level,” said one user on Canucks reddit.
“I would hate to be on the Canucks PR team right about now,” wrote another commenter.
“The irony is that he plays left wing,” quipped another.
Kane appears to have met Patel when he joined other sports stars, including Gretzky and Mike Tyson, at Trump’s inauguration in January. Kane posted a photo of himself with Patel and Gretzky — whose friendship with Trump has been widely criticized north of the border.
Kane with Wayne Gretzky at U.S. President Donald Trump’s January inauguration. Photo by Evander Kane /Instagram
Kane was a controversial signing by Vancouver, despite the fact he’s now playing for his hometown.
He faced a 2016 allegation of assault that was ultimately settled out of court. During a bitter divorce from his ex-wife, Kane was accused of sexual assault and domestic violence but a judge rejected the claims and Kane ultimately ended up with custody of their child.
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He was also investigated by the NHL but later cleared of allegations he bet on sports. And Kane filed for bankruptcy in 2021 over $26 million in debts that included gambling losses, despite having earned well over $50 million during his career.
Kane was released by the San Jose Sharks in 2021 after the NHL suspended him for violating COVID-19 protocols, then picked up by the Edmonton Oilers for four seasons.
He has kept a lower profile since joining the Oilers and had two more kids with longtime partner Teigen. They were engaged last year but haven’t set a date for a wedding.
The 34-year-old was picked up by the Canucks this summer and has played 936 NHL games since being picked fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. He was a junior star before that with the WHL Vancouver Giants.
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