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Just days after proving himself one of the most hopelessly unregulated players in the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, Evander Kane has announced on social media that he’s about to become a Vancouver Canuck. That should really fix a franchise that shipped out J.T. Miller this past season as he was seen as a problem in a dressing room with a team-culture problem.  

The word is that Kane will head to Vancouver in exchange for a fourth round draft pick. His current team, the Edmonton Oillers will not retain salary, meaning the Canucks will pay the 33-year-old’s entire $5.125 million-per-season freight.

The move is being greeted with incredulity—and not the good kind—on social media by Canucks fans. The team’s base is still reeling from Miller (seen as a key part of a rising-star core) being traded to the New York Rangers because of an alleged inability to get along with high-paid and under-performing forward Elias Pettersson.

In the recent Stanley Cup Finals series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, Kane took numerous undisciplined penalties, often early in games. As the clock ticked down in the final game six where Florida won the Stanley Cup at home, the score was so lopsided all that was left was the traditional handshake at centre ice. With two minutes left in the third period, Kane began hunting down Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk, slashing him in the arm and earning a game misconduct. He was roundly criticized in the hockey world for not coming back out from the dressing room to shake hands with the Panthers before the Cup presentation.

Long considered dressing-room poison, Kane has left numerous teams under less-than-ideal circumstances. Back in 2015 when he was with the Winnipeg Jets, former teammate Nik Antropov described him as follows: “He wouldn’t listen—he was just a young punk. Nobody had time for him.” Notable incidents during his time with the Jets including teammate Dustin Byfuglien reportedly throwing Kane’s clothes in the shower when, violating team policy, he showed up for a team meeting in a track suit.

After being traded to the Buffalo Sabres the following season, Kane missed a team practice after telling team management he would be attending the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto instead. He was suspended by the team for a game, telling reporters later, “It’s something that I can promise you won’t happen again and it’s something I’m definitely going to learn from.”

After signing with the San Jose Sharks, Kane made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning a 21-game suspension from the NHL in 2021 after reportedly submitting a fake vaccination card.

That was just one controversy during his time with the Sharks. Kane was accused on social media of betting on his games by his former wife Anna Kane. The NHL investigated and found no evidence to support the allegations.

Kane did however have a problem managing his finances, including spending money on betting. After signing a seven-year, $49 million contract extension in 2018 with the Sharks, Kane eventually racked up $26.8 million in debt—including $1.5 million for gambling—filing for bankruptcy in January of 2021.

Kane’s ex-wife also accused him of domestic violence and sexual assault, and of abandoning support for their daughter. The NHL investigated the charges and found they could not be substantiated.

In 2021 The Athletic ran a story in which it cited sources noting that, because Kane had strained relationships in the locker room, his Sharks teammates didn’t want him returning to the team the following season.

The Athletic wrote: “According to one source, the frustration with Kane stemmed from a general “disrespect for team rules,” such as being late for practices and games. And zero consequences came, which caused a ripple effect with other, younger guys,” added the source. According to another source: “It wasn’t easy dealing with him this season.”

It should be noted that all of the above is just a shortlist of Kane’s troubles, the player having been accused of various physical assaults and of sexual misconduct over the years off the ice. These include Kane being previously been accused of sexual assault by a women when he was with the Sabres. A settlement with the woman was reached this past April out of court.

In 2021 an American federal bankruptcy judge gave the green-light for discovery in a lawsuit filed by Hope Parker, who alleges Kane reneged on a promise to pay her in the neighbourhood of $2 million if she aborted their pregnancy.

Raising eyebrows around the league given his past, Kane was traded to an on-the-rise Edmonton Oilers in 2022. Ahead of his arrival, Oilers captain Connor McDavid described Kane’s history of problems as “speculation”, stating “If fans don’t like it, or the media doesn’t like it, or whatever… it is what it is.”

He was promptly ripped for his comments.

ll this has made him one of the most controversial and, really, unliked, players in the league. And now, the Canucks, who are perceived by fans as having a serious team-culture problem, are bringing Kane into the dressing room. Get ready for the kind of season where fans show up for games with brown paper bags already on their heads. (If you need a more positive take, check out Nathan Caddell’s story here.)

Here’s how Vancouver fans are reacting to today’s news that Kane is now a Canuck.

https://twitter.com/releasethekakko/status/1937892373905985697https://twitter.com/DrDangles87/status/1937894607993622827https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1937889681401597956https://twitter.com/Hughes4Norris/status/1937891178726486417https://twitter.com/taj1944/status/1937891617568174455https://twitter.com/Hughes4Norris/status/1937890389522084265https://twitter.com/_laurapitt/status/1937893013881246051https://twitter.com/samanthacp_/status/1937891416744878398