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Leverage-ander Kane

November 3, 2017, 4:34 PM ET [8 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Evander Kane has the leverage and he is using it to his advantage.


The better he plays, the higher his resale value continues to climb. It’s safe to say that Kane’s trade value has never been higher in his nine-year NHL career.

The pending unrestricted free agent sniper is leading the Buffalo Sabres in scoring this season. Kane is playing the NHL power forward role to a “T”. Kane leads the Sabres with 13-points on 7 goals and 6 assists. Kane has scored an NHL-leading 3 shorthanded goals. Kane leads the Sabres with 66 shots (5.1 per game average) on goal and has 27 hits (2nd on Sabres).

Kane is making the most of his 19:44 TOI. He dominates 5v5, is on fire as a penalty killer and generates scoring chances and points on the power play. Kane has been the most valuable player on the Sabres this season. That’s not hyperbole either. Take nothing away from Jack Eichel, whom Kane is tied with for the team-lead in points (13), it can be argued that EK9 has been the player most valuable to his team in the first month of the 2017-18 season.

Kane’s timing, like his designer wardrobe, is impeccable.

Kane chose the correct time to play the most inspired, most productive brand of hockey of his NHL career.

Trade rumors be damned. Kane hears the chatter. It doesn’t phase him one bit.

Kane is hockey-engaged, and healthy.

What’s more, Kane is financially motivated in this his contract season where he is saving his best efforts for the last year of his current contract.

Kane is deserving of the high praise he is receiving inside the NHL today. He has earned it. He wants to win in Buffalo. In his 509 career NHL games, Kane has scored 164 goals and 149 assists for 313 points. He has accumulated 605 career PIMs. For all his regular season success, playing in a Stanley Cup Playoff game has eluded Kane. He’s been patiently waiting for the opportunity to play in the NHL playoffs. The Sabres have missed the playoffs for the past six seasons.

Something has to give. The Sabres are counting on Kane to continue to pave the way.
Kane, 26, appears to have finally figured it out. The Vancouver native has dramatically reduced his off-ice footprint and has seemingly fully embraced his role as team leader and go-to guy on the Buffalo Sabres.

Over the years, one has learned that comfort is key with Kane. When he feels supported and comfortable in the room and on the bench, he performs well on the rink.

Conversely, Kane has struggled in his career when the road gets bumpy. Kane has brought a lot of the criticism on himself. It’s all been said before. The past is in the past. It’s history and it cannot be changed. However, what can be changed is the approach and the path. We can learn from our professional and personal history. How else do human beings grow and find success? They learn from their mistakes. This season, Kane appears to have found the ideal work-home life balance. He immediately acclimated to the departures of former GM Tim Murray, former bench boss Dan Bylsma and former Sabres captain Brian Gionta. With open arms, Kane has welcomed his new general manager Jason Botterill, new head coach Phil Housley and new position coach Davis Payne. Kane is using his voice more to win over teammates new and old. Kane has re-branded himself as a team leader. He is positively influencing his teammates. It appears for the first time in a long time that Kane feels like his opinion matters and is being appreciated.

In 2010-11, his sophomore season, Kane played for GM Rick Dudley and head coach Craig Ramsay while with the Atlanta Thrashers. Dudley and Ramsay were excellent teachers for Kane to learn from. Dudley and Ramsay also had vets John Torchetti and Mike Stothers on their coaching staff to assist. Kane played well that season and potted 19 goals and 24 assists in 73 games played. During his rookie season, Kane played well for John Anderson, Todd Nelson and Randy Cunneyworth. Kane’s career trajectory pointed upwards when in 2011-12 the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg. Dudley and Ramsay were relieved of their duties. So too were their assistant coaches. Winnipeg was starting from scratch. The novelty of the move to puck-mad Manitoba inspired Kane to score 30 goals, 27 assists during the inaugural season in The Peg. Kane turned his 30-goal season in his contract year into a six-year, $31.5 million mega contract.

Kane and then Jets head coach Claude Noel were not exactky a match made in hockey heaven. In The Peg, Kane segued from being the top organizational prospect into the face of the franchise, $31.5M leading man. Suffice to say, the 20-year old Kane had to learn a great deal about the pressures that are part and parcel elements of financial autonomy and NHL fame.

With great expectations, come great responsibilities. Some athletes and entertainers handle fame and financial freedom better than others.

Kane’s maturation on the bench and in the room in Buffalo can be directly connected to his maturation off the ice, away from the rink. He’s humble. He speaks in self-deprecating tones. He praises his teammates. His attitude is positive. He makes himself available. He doesn’t duck out of the room after tough losses. He stands in the pocket and answers the tough questions like a respected team leader should do. He’s not taking short cuts. He’s doing the necessary work to improve his on and off ice image.

To my eyes, this is the first time in a long time that Kane can confidently say that he is 100% engaged in the process of growing his own game while helping his teammates to grow their own individual games.

This is Kane’s third and most important season in Buffalo. He will earn $5.25 million this season. When his contract expires on July 1, 2018, Kane will be looking to get paid. If he keeps up his current torrid scoring binge, he will easily find himself earning $7 million to $7.5 million annual average value per season.

How hot is Kane right now?

Did you know that Kane has scored 35 goals in his past 71 games?

It’s true. Since December 3, 2016, Kane is averaging a half a goal per game for his past 71 games. He has scored 56 points in his past 71 games played.

Is averaging .79 points per game a good thing? The only thing better would be averaging a point per game. Kane isn’t satisfied. He wants more.

Kane scored 28 goals in 58 games in 2016-17. He suffered four busted ribs in the 2016-17 season opener versus Montreal and was forced to sit and watch until his season debut on December 3. Kane then racked up 25 even strength goals and 3 power play goals last season in 58 games played. In the first month of this season from October 5 to November 3, Kane has already picked up exactly where he left off in April. Kane has scored a team-leading 7 goals for (on 66 SOG) in 13 games. Kane currently leads the NHL with three shorthanded goals and also has one power play goal.

Retroactive to December 3, 2016, Kane has scored 56 points in 71 games.
The remarkable thing is that he has scored 28 even strength goals, 4 PPG, and 3 SHG. Kane also has 21 assists (14 5v5, 7 PP) in that time frame.

Of Kane’s 35 goals in his last 71 games, 6 of them have been game winners and 3 others have been scored while he is killing a penalty. Talk about clutch goals. When the Sabres need a goal at a key juncture in a game, they turn to Evander Kane.

Kane’s name has been a permanent fixture in the NHL trade rumor since January 2017. On the road and at home, NHL GMs, AGMs and directors of pro scouting continue to scout him. Is Kane still available? There was a time last winter that Kane was definitely available, if the price was right. Tim Murray had opportunities to trade Kane but chose not to do so. Murray was sensitive to winning trades. He didn’t make trades for the sake of making trades. In February and March 2017, as the Kane trade buzz percolated aggressively, Murray’s thinking was “let’s hold off right now to see what happens at the NHL Draft or later this summer”. Murray never got the chance to do so as he was relieved of his duties long before the NHL Draft. Botterill and Housley obviously had different plans for Kane. The Kane trade talk began to dissipate as the Stanley Cup Finals began. The Kane trade talks all but died in July when the unrestricted free agency market had opened. Today, in light of his scoring surge and off ice transformation and maturity, Kane’s value is rising.

Botterill and Housley would be foolish to trade Kane now. Or, later for that matter.

Jack Eichel would have a thing or 15 to say about trading Kane. Eichel and Kane are hard-wired to one another. There groove and chemistry together in remarkable to watch. Their combined swagger and confidence is the alternative fuel that is driving the Buffalo engine.

Why would Botterill want to tempt fate?

Playing alongside Eichel has inspired Kane to be his better self. Eichel has assisted on three of Kane’s seven goals scored this season. Kane has assisted on two of Eichel four goals scored this season.

Like Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, or, Axl Rose and Slash of Guns-N-Roses, the Eichel-Kane duo are making great music together right now. Their chemistry is measurable. It’s not a fluke or a one-off. It’s real. It’s sustainable.

I can’t see a scenario where Botterill will trade Kane. Not now. Not later. It appears more and more likely that in the near future, Botterill and Kane’s agent will begin the process of discussing a long-term contract extension.

Botterill isn’t blessed with massive amounts of salary cap space. He has $18 million available next season when Eichel’s eight-year, $80 million monster contract kicks in. Botterill won’t have any UFA of consequence to re-sign next summer. Josh Gorges, Jacob Josefson, Benoit Pouliot, Justin Falk, and Chad Johnson are all playing on expiring deals. Propsect forwards Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste will be qualified. Seth Griffith will be RFA as well.

Botterill will have a big decision on his hand regarding to re-signing of pending RFA center/winger Samson Reinhart, whose current contract will expire on July 1, 2018. Has Botterill seen enough of Reinhart to hand him an eight-year contract worth $36 million to $40 million?

Strategically, Botterill opted to move the Reinhart contract to next summer in order to clear his desk off in the short term to work on Eichel’s contract this past summer. Reinhart has started slowly this season by scoring only two goals in his first thirteen games played. Much is expected from Reinhart both as a center-winger and as a scorer. So far, Reinhart hasn’t ignited. That is not to say that he won’t erupt for 25-30 goals and 65-70 points this season. The clock is ticking. Reinhart needs to study Evander Kane’s work habits to emulate his contract-year offensive production.

There may come a day in the not too distant future that Botterill entertains the thought of trading away Reinhart in order to re-sign Evander Kane to a long-term contract. “Bots” knows the cost of doing business is high with Kane. Should Kane score 30+ goals while leading the Sabres to the playoffs this season, Kane will be looking at a new contract in the $7 million per season, times 6 years stratosphere.


Kane is a hard habit to break.




**

I recently heard a rumor about a potential Reinhart trade to Calgary. The principles in the deal would be Samson Reinhart and Sam Bennett. Straight up. Both youngsters are natural centers that have struggled to play and dominate at the position at the NHL level. Both players have been moved to the wings to simplify their assignments.

Reinhart was the second overall pick at the 2014 NHL Draft. Bennett was the fourth overall pick at the same draft. In 180 career games, Reinhart has scored 42 goals and 53 assists for 95 points. Reinhart has scored 2 goals and 3 assists in 13 games this season. A former OHL scoring star at Kingston, Bennett has struggled to play to his ability level in Calgary where in 172 games he has scored 31 goals and 31 assists for 63 points. Bennett has zero goals and zero assists in 13 games played this season.

Reinhart, who will be 22 later this month, was a prolific scorer/playmaker for the Kootenay Ice, is a pending RFA. In September, Bennett, 21, signed a two-year bridge deal worth $3.9 million ($1.95M AAV).
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