Evander Kane Fires Shots in First Fiery Interview as a Canuck Over Oilers Controversy
Photo credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Late in the Oilers final game of the year, Evander Kane was penalized for slashing, and now he's called out the media for their handling of the situation.
Evander Kane has never been one to shy away from controversy, and throughout his NHL career, he's always managed to find himself at the centre of big moments and controversial acts.
That was no different during his tenure with the Edmonton Oilers, and poetically, his career there ended in controversy, as he was ejected from their last game against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals for unnecessary slashing at the end of the game with the team down five goals.
Now, he's addressed that play, and in the process he's called out the media in Edmonton, who he notes wants players to go down swinging, but when they do just that, the media turn on them and call them out for it.
"It's baffling to me, how anybody saw that in any other way than somebody getting kicked out of a game. I mean, I've been kicked out of games in the past. Other players have been kicked out of games of the past. I've never seen anybody come out and shake hands if they were kicked out of the game in an elimination game of the postseason. So, I didn't. Then I saw some criticism around it for me, I felt like they were just looking for something to talk about.
Even if you look at, like, some of the chat about how I had been playing with a couple of minutes left to go. The season's over. I mean, who cares? You look at some of the media pundits, they talk about how you gotta go down swinging, and then once you go down swinging, it's all about discipline, has he lost his mind. I find it ridiculous. You know, these are people that have never been in real intense competition ever in their lives - a lot of them, at least. I find it funny to listen to to it sometimes."
Even if you look at, like, some of the chat about how I had been playing with a couple of minutes left to go. The season's over. I mean, who cares? You look at some of the media pundits, they talk about how you gotta go down swinging, and then once you go down swinging, it's all about discipline, has he lost his mind. I find it ridiculous. You know, these are people that have never been in real intense competition ever in their lives - a lot of them, at least. I find it funny to listen to to it sometimes."
Unsurprisingly, Kane tried to defend his actions that were simply unnecessary, as well as defending the fact that he didn't come out to shake hands, something that he believes the media were just bringing up so they had something to talk about.
Ultimately, Kane is now a member of the Vancouver Canucks and is looking to move on from his time as an Oiler, and while he certainly has, it's something that's likely going to get brought up again when the two Pacific Division rivals clash in 2025/26.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 12 | 151 ANSWERS Evander Kane Fires Shots in First Fiery Interview as a Canuck Over Oilers Controversy Did the media handle this situation with Kane correctly? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 22.5 % |
| No | 117 | 77.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
