Despite a very strong start to the season, TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested during an interview with WGR 550 in Buffalo (audio link) that the Sabres are unlikely to re-sign pending UFA winger Evander Kane. However, it doesn’t appear that GM Jason Botterill is actively shopping him either at this time. Kane has ten points through eight games and keeping up anywhere near close to that pace should set him up well to hit the open market. That said, Dreger noted that even though the 26-year-old could on pace for a career season, he still could be in tough to land a long-term contract given some of the concerns surrounding him that have come up over the years.
Elsewhere around the East:
- The Panthers have recalled goaltender Harri Sateri from Springfield of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions page. He will serve as insurance for Roberto Luongo, who left Friday’s game against the Penguins with a hand injury and is questionable for tonight versus Washington. The 27-year-old is off to a rough start this season with a 4.51 GAA and a .859 SV% in a pair of games in the AHL; it’s his first season back in North America since 2013-14 when he was with the Sharks organization.
- Flyers forward Jordan Weal missed his second straight game today due to an upper-body injury. GM Ron Hextall told reporters, including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that he is listed as day-to-day. Weal is off to a strong start in his first full NHL season with a goal and three assists through six games. Also listed as day-to-day is winger Taylor Leier who is dealing with an upper-body issue of his own.
- The Bruins announced that they have recalled defenseman Rob O’Gara from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. He will play tonight if blueliner Kevan Miller, who left practice early yesterday after taking a puck off his knee and is listed as a game-time decision, can’t go. O’Gara has played in three games at the minor league level this season, picking up an assist and also got into three contests with Boston last year.
Kane has a lot of talent and knows how to use it at times but his past issues and tendency for inconsistent play would make me very hesitant to bid on him in FA. If I were a GM, I’d be putting a similar effort in a background check as Marc Bergevin did when he signed Alex Radulov.
Hi Doc, I hate to bother you again but what you said in your above comments happen way more often than we know.
Even back when I played in the USHL, any time that a team was interested in a player, they did comprehensive background checks without fail.
Do you know how often that they do this today in the NHL? Thanks!
No worries PK.
I don’t know for certain how in depth GM’s go but based on past odd fits, countless second chances and a host of other instances in the past seem to indicate to me that some GM’s barely know anything about the player they’re about to sign. Take the infamous urban legend of when the Leafs inexplicably signed Jeff Finger. It’s been rumoured and implied that Cliff Fletcher actually thought he was signing Kurt Sauer.
The Kane situation reminds me of when the Atlanta Braves signed Gary Sheffield. If you read former Braves GM John Schuerholz’s book, Sheffield had generated a bad rep around MLB and when he hit FA, found his market was negatively impacted and eventually approached the Braves to negotiate. Schuerholz spent a few weeks doing an extensive check on Sheff’s character, his rep and several other aspects before deciding to sign him but with a bunch of extra wording in his contract to ensure Sheff’s previous antics were actually behind him.
Doc, thanks again for some outstanding information. This is what makes hockey so fun. If you need a question answered, there is someone out there to provide an answer. Hockey fans ARE the best fans in the world & they help to make hockey the greatest sport out there. Thanks again!
Kane is great. Buffalo not so good. When will Ted Nolan return? When will we have John Regis night? What ever happened to Danny?