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Evander Flow

May 24, 2017, 4:57 PM ET [33 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
You already know my take about Evander Kane.

He's a great player. A feared power forward who opposing coaches must game plan for.

Walk into opponent's locker rooms and you will see Buffalo's #9 written on the dry erase board.

Kane is to be respected from a hockey strategy standpoint.


The 25 year old hits, skates, scores, fights, blocks shots, and competes like his life depends on it.

Enemy defensemen hate his guts. Ditto the forwards and starting goalies of 29 (soon to be 30 teams) from opposing teams.

Kane is a menace on the ice.

I've said it before and I will say it again:

Evander Kane will be a 40-goal scorer in the NHL before his career is done.

Kane has scored 48 goals the past two seasons with 43 of the goals coming at even strength. Kane has an uncanny knack for lighting the lamp when his team needs a goal. His trade value has never been higher.


It has been, and will continue to be my opinion that Buffalo Sabres fans will have to watch Kane realize his full potential from afar.

I don't see Jason Botterill and the soon-to-be reconfigured Buffalo Sabres front office moving on with Kane.

Kane has just one more season remaining on his current six year contract that counts as a $5.25M AAV metric. Kane's reps at Newport Sports can begin the process of negotiating Kane's next contract on July 1.

At this point in time, Botterill has bigger fish to fry than to negotiate a spanking new six year, $36 to $40 million contract extension with Kane.

Botterill has $22.8 million in salary cap space for 2017-18. He has many important decisions to make.

Sabres wonder twins Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart will be RFAs in July 2018. It's time for Botterill to use his salary cap wizardry to start the process of creating suitcases of money for Eichel and Reinhart. Eichel will command an eight year contract in the $8.5 million AAV range. Reinhart will likely see a three year bridge deal with a $5.5M AAV.

Botterill inherits strong bones and a reliable foundation which Tim Murray assembled. Botterill his now tasked with fortifying and strengthening a weakish D corps.

Botterill must also figure out his starting goaltending situation. Is Cal Petersen signing with a Buffalo or will he go UFA?

Then there are the RFAs like Robin Lehner, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson. His UFA are Brian Gionta, Dmitry Kulikov, Taylor Fedun and Cody Franson. I think Gionta is the only UFA who will return to Buffalo. The others will have to sing for their supper on the open market.


Botterill didn't trade a whack of premium assets to Winnipeg to land Kane in Buffalo. Botterill's predecessor Tim Murray did that deal, which looked like a win for the Sabres in 2014. Two and a half seasons later, one concludes that Kane should be traded now for a top three NHL experienced defenseman (See: Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Shea Theodore, Brandon Montour, Shayne Gostisbehere, Colton Parayko, Tyson Barrie, Matthew Dumba, Jake Muzzin, or Olli Maatta.)

The fact is, Kane was hard wired to Tim Murray. Perhaps part of Murray's falling out with the Pegulas is the way he did, or didn't handle Evander Kane. Kane's off ice actions weren't exactly a great reflection on Murray.

I've been reporting for the past year that Kane's pending unrestricted free agent status is the elephant in the room. I won't stop reporting what I hear from my NHL sources. Face it, Buffalo. Evander Kane doesn't figure in the long term future of the Sabres. Better to come to grips with it now and treat trading him like it is a tremendous opportunity to insure the Sabres play in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

It's time for Botterill to make a sound business decision and trade Kane.

It's the right thing to do.

Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman spoke about a Kane trade possibility on Wednesday.

“Evander Kane as a player is a guy who can make a difference,” said NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman during a Wednesday afternoon discussion on 630 CHED in Edmonton.

"He’s a great forechecker. He can score. I know that at times Dan Bylsma and him butted heads on could Evander Kane make himself more of a diversified scorer, as in find other ways to do it than he does now. So I think that’s a question.

“But when I spoke to Botterill he wouldn’t talk about Kane specifically. But I did get the sense from talking to some other teams like Buffalo was looking at it like, ‘We have to decide now. Are we extending him or not. Because if we’re not, maybe we have to move him.’ “

Kane trade rumors ran hot and heavy from last June until November when Canucks GM Jim Benning finally said "uncle" and retreated from the ongoing discussions. Benning didn't want to unload young puck mover Ben Hutton. Benning seemingly was hoping to take Kane, a Vancouver kid, off Tim Murray's hands for pennies on the dollar. Murray wouldn't budge. Benning took his hockey net and went home.

Nice try, Jim.


“Vancouver is always a possibility,” said Friedman when asked. “I know that rumor has always been out there and Vancouver could definitely use some scoring. I don’t know specific teams at this point in time. But I do believe that Botterill’s decision is either, ‘We do it or we move.’

“I don’t know if they want to go in next season with him unsigned because every day that you have a player like that, they’re depreciating as an asset.“


Benning wasn't alone.

On many a night, NHL clubs like LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Columbus, Philadelphia, Minnesota, NY Islanders, Carolina and Calgary were watching Kane perform once he returned in November from his four busted ribs that he suffered on opening night against Montreal.

Where will the Sabres get scoring from if/when they trade Kane?

Botterill's new head coach, be it Rick Tocchet, Phil Housley or Bob Boughner, will have to coach and install a system that allows the Sabres to maximize and get more goals by a committee of Sabres including Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Samson Reinhart, Marcus Foligno, Matt Moulson (if not bought out), Brendan Guhle, Viktor Antipin, Evan Rodrigues, Justin Bailey, Alex Nylander, Hudson Fasching, Will Carrier, Tyler Ennis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian and others.



Ask yourself:



Do I want to be watching other teams compete for the Stanley cup in 2017-18? Or, do I want to see my Sabres break their six year playoff drought?


Ask the Anaheim Ducks what they would have given to have Kane in their lineup in Game 7lineup against Nashville. What would St. Louis have given to have a sniper not named Tarasenko carrying the Blues in the playoffs. San Jose, Minnesota, Columbus, Washington, and NY Rangers all needed more scoring and toughness in their respective playoff runs. LA, Carolina, Philly, and NY Islanders needed more pop in their respective lineups.

Evander Kane likely will be a star in someone else's sky.


(Thanks, Nichols On Hockey)



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