The Toronto Maple Leafs Should NOT Sign Evander Kane

Locker room issues

As I mentioned above, from a purely on-ice perspective, Kane would fit the Toronto Maple Leafs very well. He’s skilled and tough and would undoubtedly be a fan favourite.

However, Kane would symbolize a glaring issue to many fans of the team and of the sport, if you’re good enough, we’ll always look past anything you do. Letting players get away with abhorrent off-ice actions because they make your hockey team better, is a slap in the face to the victim and anyone else effected.

Dating back to his time in Winnipeg, Kane has always been seen as a problematic figure in the dressing room. The infamous photo of then Winnipeg Jets teammate, Dustin Byfuglien flipping-off Kane has been symbolically used to show the troubles he had as a Jet. Like, showing up in casual attire to a team meeting, prompting Byfuglien to throw his tracksuit in a cold tub. Leading to Kane being traded to the Buffalo Sabres a week later.

I will try to steer away from speculation throughout this article as best as possible, but it’s obvious that this wasn’t the first issue Kane has had. You don’t go from being perfectly fine, showing up in the wrong attire once, to being traded a week later. Not to mention, the whispers of locker room issues by this time, there was clearly things boiling below the surface that the general public was not privy to.

Then, after he was traded and was in Buffalo, Kane was famously seen partying at the NBA All-Star Game the night before missing practice.  There have been other controversies and instances that have surfaced over the years as well but these are the most famous ones and in all honesty, these aren’t the main issues with Kane. If this was the worst of it, then who cares?  It would be a no brainer to sign him.

 Serious Allegations

There are a long list of various accusations levied against Kane over the years. There is no need to go through them all again, as anyone who is interested is likely well aware by now.  The point here is that the sheer volume of them is a major red flag in deciding if you should bring in a talented player who was cut from his previous team for his off-ice behavior.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Not Sign Evander Kane

There is no denying Kane is a great hockey player. He’s a power forward who’s consistently produced at a top-six rate and would be a wonderful addition to any hockey team on the ice. Yet, between Covid violations, many allegations of poor/criminal conduct, and a laundry list of locker room problems, it’s just not worth it for the Toronto Maple Leafs to take that risk.

Evander Kane constantly finds himself on the wrong side of allegations and scandals. It’d be different if it was a one-off claim that came out of nowhere but Kane is almost always in the press and it’s usually never a good thing.

Regardless of what you believe, the Leafs are supposed to be a model organization. They’re an original six club with a storied history and a massive fanbase. Signing him could be a slap in the face to many fans who have been victims of similar things Kane has been alleged to have done.

Even from a business standpoint, the Leafs and MLSE are a billion dollar organization that routinely sits at or near the top in terms of dollar value amongst NHL teams. Taking a chance on a player like Kane harms the sport and could harm the organization, especially if things go south. It isn’t a smart investment from a business point of view and more importantly, from a personal and moral point of view.

If the Leafs truly want to be seen as a progressive organization, which they’ve clearly tried to position themselves as, they won’t sign Evander Kane. They won’t continue to feed into the culture that routinely turns it’s back on victims and supports players no matter what.