Buffalo left winger Evander Kane has seen his name pop up in trade rumors recently with Vancouver and Minnesota but no deal has taken place. Speaking with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Kane doesn’t seem to be fazed by having his name in trade chatter:
“It’s nothing new for me, something I’ve dealt with. There’s been bad reporting, inaccurate reporting, confused reporting, silly reporting. And then you have accurate reporting too. I’m used to it all. For me, I really don’t care because you can’t worry about it. … I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m focused on hockey.”
Kane has been no stranger to having his name out there, both for on and off-ice reasons. His off-ice issues have been well documented while on the ice, he has shown flashes of being the high end power forward he was pegged to be after being the fourth overall pick of Atlanta back in 2009 but also has had moments of inconsistency that have prevented him from being a top liner wherever he plays.
In the meantime, Kane is working his way back into Buffalo’s lineup after being injured in the season opener with four cracked ribs. He has played in the last seven games but has only two assists. He has surpassed the 20 minute mark in each of his last two outings though as he earns more responsibility from head coach Dan Bylsma.
With two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25MM and a salary of $6MM in each season, any sort of deal involving the 25 year old would require a high salaried player coming back Buffalo’s way if they were to decide to deal him which could complicate any potential trade. Harrington adds that the Sabres aren’t shopping Kane but are listening to offers if a team wants to inquire about him.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Detroit Red Wings have assigned right winger Tomas Jurco to Grand Rapids of the AHL on a conditioning assignment, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). He’s expected to play two games for the Griffins and then return to Detroit on the weekend. Jurco has yet to play this season due to offseason back surgery.
- Senators left winger Mike Hoffman will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with a groin problem, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. However, Bobby Ryan (broken finger) is not yet ready to return. Head coach Guy Boucher is hopeful that Ryan will be able to play on Thursday night against Boston.