Why the New York Rangers are likely not suitors to sign Evander Kane
Evander Kane is now an unrestricted free agent. He is ready and willing to sign with a contender on a low-cost show me deal.
According to Michael Traikos the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Hurricanes, Lightning, Panthers, and Golden Knights are interested. The Oilers may be the most desperate team of the bunch to land him and have been in contact with Kane’s agent.
What about the Rangers? They’re certainly a contender and could use a top six scoring forward.
Rangers not likely looking to add Kane
I can’t say with any certainty that the Rangers are not entertaining the idea of signing him.
Kane, 30, led the Sharks in goals (22) and assists (27) while appearing in all 56 games last season. For his career, he has 264 goals and 242 assists in 769 career games. Although he’s a a left wing, I’m fairly certain he could play the right side.
There’s plenty of red flags in signing Kane. Especially when you consider his former teammates reportedly asked management to get rid of him. However, we can find some historical context with two key members of the Rangers.
Both Gerard Gallant and Ryan Reaves have had some issues with Kane in the past that have been documented.
While Gallant was coaching the Golden Knights, he recollected being chirped by Kane during their playoff series against the Sharks.
“Game two, Evander Kane is yelling at Ryan Reaves between the bench,” Gallant explained. “Evander yells at me, ‘Hey coach! When are you going to send your big guy (Reaves) out and play him more than four minutes’. I said, ‘He’s played more than 10 minutes every game and he’s going to play a lot more.'”
Reaves and Kane have a history
Back in May, Evander Kane took to Twitter to go after his old nemesis, Ryan Reaves. It was after an incident in the Avalanche’s embarrassing win over Vegas where Reaves was assessed a match penalty for hitting Philipp Grubauer and injuring Ryan Graves.
Kane and Reaves appear to not be big fans of one another. They had a Twitter spat earlier that season and Kane wanted to renew it.
In a tweet, Kane wrote: “Instead of a suspension they should have to play him 20 minutes a night for the rest of the series.” This was highlighted by a laughing with tears emoji.
Considering the chemistry the team has created, I’m not sure that Chris Drury would like to disrupt it.
And if Kane and Reaves really don’t like each other, it would be hard to imagine Gallant being for bringing him in.
“You know what, the fans treated me A-1 here. I had a great time in my two and a half years,” Gallant said about his return to Vegas recently. “I’ll prepare myself for the game and it’ll be nice but it’s really about Ryan Reaves coming back here. Reavo is a fan favorite and he deserves that. So as a coach, it’s nice, but it’s not the same as a player. I’m hoping they have a big cheer for Reavo.”
NHL Rumors
Kane has six suitors, and Yotes may be ready to move Chychrun now. Read more.
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