Report: NHL investigating Evander Kane crossing U.S.-Canada border

Ever since the San Jose Sharks filed the papers to terminate Evander Kane’s contract, speculation has run rampant over where the power forward would next ply his trade. The Edmonton Oilers were immediately linked, and general manager Ken Holland confirmed during a press conference Tuesday that he spoke to Kane’s representatives.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were also rumored as a contender for his services, but Joe Smith of The Athletic reported Tuesday night that after consideration, they removed themselves from the running. The Lightning don’t have any cap space to work with, and general manager Julien BriseBois explained to reporters Wednesday (including Smith) that they aren’t even expecting to make any deadline moves this season because of the financial constraints.

With some options dropping out and others confirming their interest, Kane’s agent Dan Milstein tweeted Tuesday that he and Kane were still interviewing with teams, and there were still plenty of details to work out.

One of those details could be another league investigation. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the league is looking into the incident that caused Kane’s termination in the first place. That is the process of Kane crossing the border into Canada on Dec. 29, eight days after testing positive for COVID-19. San Jose says he did not have proper medical clearance, and the NHL is investigating the incident. Friedman believes it will prevent Kane from signing in the short term, though he doesn’t give a timeline on when the investigation will be resolved.

Kane has until the trade deadline to sign a new contract in order to be eligible for the playoffs this season.