NHL announces that any contract that Evander Kane signs in free agency this summer could be voided
Evander Kane is in an interesting position this summer that could see him signing a sizeable contract in a location of his own choosing in free agency, but he could also see that contract voided not long after. This is, of course, because of his ongoing grievance against the San Jose Sharks for what Kane and the NHLPA feel was a wrongful termination of his contract.
At this point, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says that the league views Kane's contract as voided and believes that it is the correct decision. However, with free agency looming and the arbitration process not able to get under way until July, it could cause problems for both the Sharks organization and Kane himself, as both parties are expected to be active in free agency.
In the Sharks' case, they'll currently have to be cognizant of the fact that they have to keep $7M open for Kane's contract to potentially be reinstated after the grievance concludes. For Evander Kane, it means that even if he does land a significant deal in a city in which he wants to play, his contract may be voided, putting both Kane and the prospective new team in an tough position. You'd have to wonder how many teams would actually be willing to reserve a spot for Kane and what should be a very sizable contract knowing that it could fall apart, leaving the interested team without the player and having watched other top targets sign deals in other NHL markets around the league on day 1 of free agency.
We do know that Oilers GM Ken Holland does intend to make a pitch to Kane after a very successful test run in Edmonton that led to a Western Conference Finals appearance. That said, if he has a chance to land someone like Filip Forsberg for near equal money in free agency, would he pass that up? How about the blue line in Edmonton? Obviously it needs a bit of an overhaul. Does someone like John Klingberg make sense? Plenty of factors that come into play that could complicate matters for Kane and the Oilers.
At this point, it is believed that Kane and the Sharks are looking at an all-or-nothing scenario, where Kane is either awarded the reinstatement of his contract and the right to return to San Jose, or the voided contract is upheld and Kane gets nothing and will be free to sign with a team of his choosing.
However, there is another option available for both sides. Kane and the Sharks have the ability to strike a settlement agreement, which would result in a portion of Kane's contract being paid out with a cap recapture penalty hitting the Sharks' payroll for a length of time.
Kane has 3 years remaining on his voided contract in San Jose at $7M per season, though his actual salary in each of the remaining 3 years is $7M, $6M, $6M.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 18 | 193 ANSWERS NHL announces that any contract that Evander Kane signs in free agency this summer could be voided Will Evander Kane return to San Jose this summer or will he be free to sign elsewhere? | ||
| He's going back to San Jose | 37 | 19.2 % |
| He'll return to Edmonton to play with McDavid | 79 | 40.9 % |
| He'll sign somewhere else | 77 | 39.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
