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Report: Sharks players don't want Evander Kane back on the team

Evander Kane's future with the Sharks is up in the air. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Evander Kane's future with the Sharks is up in the air. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) (NHLI via Getty Images)

San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane is causing a lot of headaches.

According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, several of Kane’s teammates do not want the 30-year-old forward on the team once the season starts this fall. Most of the chaos surrounding Kane is currently coming from a pending league investigation after his wife alleged last week that he was betting on his own games.

Despite Kane denying those allegations, the league hastily decided to go forward with a full investigation.

"Unfortunately, I would like to address the completely FALSE accusations that my estranged wife and soon-to-be ex-wife has made against me," Kane wrote on Twitter Sunday. "Even against the advice of my legal team, I feel strongly that the public and fans hear this directly from me. I have NEVER gambled/bet on hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game."

The 12-year NHL veteran filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January, listing debts of over $26 million and according to the petition, he lost over $1.5 million in gambling during 2020. Later, Kane revealed that he has participated in therapy for his gambling problem.

"With respect to my gambling, it has been an issue in my past and it would be inaccurate to pretend it has not had a negative effect on my life, financially and otherwise," he wrote in a declaration attached to part of the bankruptcy filing. "I have undergone and continue to receive personal therapy to deal with it and other matters and hope that the issue is behind me."

Kane’s issues with gambling aren’t just coming to light now, either. In November 2019, he was sued by a Las Vegas casino for failing to pay back $500,000 in gambling markers, which he was lent in several instalments in April of that year.

According to Kurz, the Sharks have been trying to deal Kane to another team for weeks now, and despite him being a lock for 20 goals, no team seems willing to take on the troubled winger and his $7-million cap hit for the next four years.

With both on and off-ice issues at play, no one knows for certain what will happen when the puck drops in October, but it sure feels that he won’t be a Shark if his teammates have anything to do with it.

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