If you can heal the symptoms
but not affect the cause
it's quite a bit like trying to heal
the gunshot wound with gauze
Those are the lyrics from the first verse of the song Sand written by Trey Anastasio. They have no direct meaning to hockey but you might find them very interesting if you happened to hear the interview that Evander Kane gave today on the Team 1040 in Vancouver.
Today it got real.
Here is a quick summar and link to the
AUDIO. of the interview with Matt Sekeres. Thanks to Michael Remis for having this up.
There’s a lot going on with the Winnipeg Jets and Evander Kane right now. There’s his tweets, the rumours of potential trade activity from all NHL circles, off ice antics (that’s not just him but many other Jets players too) and now this interview where he clearly does not stand up and say playing for the Jets is what he wants to be doing.
There are other dynamics at work in as well though, it’s not all Kane’s fault or issue. There is of course the Winnipeg Jets, his employer, there is his agent and management at Newport Sports and finally the fans and media who ultimately lay judgment before and after.
The relationship is clearly not good and is only looking to get worse if current actions are to be seen as indicative of future events. There are some root issues here and it appears that none of the parties, including the bystanders like the fans and media to some degree are able to sort them out.
Shots are fired and but the root cause of the problems remain, unaddressed while the wounds are covered in gauze never to heal.
In summary, if one were to read between the lines of Kane and the Jets public comments it would look like this:
“I don’t want to be a Jet”
“We want you to be a Jet”
“I won’t be a good Jet”
“You’ll be what we want you to be”
“I won’t be a cooperative Jet”
“You will cooperate”
“I want to be a traded Jet”
“You won’t be traded until we’re ready”
It’s a cycle that will never change until Kane and his people sit down and work with the Jets and their people. How can it? How can these sides possible kiss and make up?
The Jets are his employer and while you simply cannot fire him due to a contract and simple asset management logic, how can they tolerate this kind of behaviour. No business would, ever.
How have the Jets let him have this much freedom to show such indifference the franchise, city and employer? Whether that indifference is real and honest is irrelevant at this point. It is certainly not for public consumption nor is it is something that should be allowed to simmer to this boiling point.
But what of Newport Sports and Kane’s ‘management’ team? What part of having a cooperative client who can help them maximize his value is missing on that group? What does it say about their ability to
market and sell Kane to the very public that wants him as a Jet, and those beyond?
Finally those who have to make sense of all of this are the media and fans. How do they fail to come to some assumptions, if not complete judgment ,on the player, the organization, and the representation. What are we supposed to do? Can this be ignored any longer and categorized as something other than what it is: a bad, broken relationship?
How many times have you had to read about Kane, his antics, the Winnipeg media coverage, and the rest of the fallout in this space? Too many. Yet it persists and nothing changes. Two sides digging in their heels for a nasty fight and damaging divorce, one where no one wins but the lawyers.
What does it say to any other players on the Jets who may feel somewhat aligned with Kane’v view? How do other players, who may consider the Jets as a possible destination view this scenario? The current state of affairs goes far beyond #teamKane or #teamJets, the root issues are deeper and more complex.
Maybe it does just come down to winning and if the team was winning all the things that seem to bug the fans are washed away or forgiven. Maybe the stories don’t stick and are overlooked. Maybe nothing happens because everyone is focused on being a winner. Maybe that’s all Kane wants and he feels that’s not happening in Winnipeg as it looks doubtful that fans here will ever get to enjoy what Evander Kane can be on a winner. That might not be entirely his fault either, but we’ll probably never be able to see the cause looking through all these layers of gauze.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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