More than a month after NHL free agency began, veteran forward Evander Kane still does not have a contract. This has become one of the biggest surprises of the offseason.

NHL teams spent about $950 million when free agency opened, but no team has signed Kane. This has made many people wonder how teams now see the 35-year-old winger.

Hockey Patrol talked about this in a post on X. The post said the biggest question is no longer if Kane can help a team.

"The real question is how low his price has to fall before one team finally decides the reward outweighs the risk," the page posted on August 2.

Kane still has a strong NHL career. He has scored more than 300 goals, played nearly 1,000 regular-season games, and has a lot of playoff experience, playing 97 games and scoring 55 points. He also plays a physical game, which many teams like. Even so, no team has signed him yet.

Kane has dealt with injuries over the last few seasons. Last year in March, he was sidelined and had surgery to repair two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles. In January last year, he also had knee surgery.

So, Kane's performance has dipped lately, as he scored 31 points in 71 games.

Because of this, many teams have chosen other players. Kane can still help a team in the right role, but teams may not want to give him a big contract.

While Hockey Patrol's post started a big discussion, most fans shared negative opinions about Kane's value.

Fans believe Kane's NHL market has changed

Many fans said Kane's situation is not mainly about off-ice issues. They believe it is because he is getting older and his production has gone down.

One fan wrote, "This has less to do with risk & more to do with reality. Kane is 35... The market says he isn't. Every player reaches a point where the juice isn't worth the squeeze anymore."

The comment showed that many fans believe teams no longer see Kane as a reliable top-six forward.

Another fan also believes that Kane has declined too much and came up with a calculation that the teams might have performed.

"He's not worth the risk but he's also not that good anymore. Lose lose situation. Kane is done," the comment read.

Several fans said Kane may only get a professional tryout (PTO) if another team gives him a chance. 

"Someone will give him a PTO and he won't make it, then he'll retire. He's done," he wrote.

Other fans talked more about his locker-room reputation than his ability on the ice. There have been multiple instances where Kane clashed with his teammate. For example, back in 2015 with Winnipeg, Kane wore a tracksuit to the morning meeting despite team rules. After a brief workout and stretch, Dustin Byfuglien allegedly put the clothes in the shower as a message to him. Kane was not seen again by the team until the return flight.

"He's not worth the headache... Give him the league minimum and that's that," one fan said.

Another fan believes that there is a pattern of turmoil or negative attention surrounding teams the player has played for.

"Every team he goes to collapses with drama," read the comment.

Many other fans shared similar opinions in different ways. However, most people who replied to Hockey Patrol's post were not confident about Kane's NHL future.

Do you think Evander Kane still deserves an NHL contract, or is his career nearing the end? Let us know in the comments. 

Read more at the NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Kapil Manghnani brings over 4.5 years of experience in sports journalism, covering a wide range of sports, including Soccer, NHL, Tennis, Gymnastics, NASCAR, Swimming, and more. He has written for leading sports platforms, producing everything from breaking news and features to in-depth analysis, opinion pieces, long-form stories, and short-form content. Beyond articles, he has also scripted long-form storytelling videos for YouTube channels. His work focuses on delivering well-researched, engaging, and reader-first sports content across multiple formats.

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Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar