On Saturday, seemingly out of nowhere, Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb. The San Jose Sharks had placed Evander Kane on waivers for the purpose of contract termination. Once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs are somehow linked.
While everyone is likely familiar with why San Jose would want out of the contract (he is, after all, in the AHL) it was surprising that they could actually terminate it.
It was reported that the Sharks terminated his contract due to violating the AHL’s Covid-19 protocol. This comes after Kane was suspended for 21 games by the league after filing a false vaccination record.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to Kane for years whenever talk of him changing teams comes up. More specifically, they’ve been linked to him dating back to his AHL debut last month, when they reportedly had a scout attending the game.
Besides the reports linking them together, many Leafs fans are already intrigued by the possibility of signing the forward. Due to his off-ice issues —which will be touched on later— he’ll likely come cheap. He also plays a strong, tough no-nonsense power forward game that would fit a Leafs potential need up front and ingratiate himself with fans immediately. So, why shouldn’t the Leafs sign him?