Evander Kane has dealt with plenty of adversity in his life. The Sharks winger having his bankruptcy played out in public is far from his worse point, though.
In fact, he feels the complete opposite about it.
"Yes, it’s been stressful to deal with a lot of the bankruptcy," Kane said to The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark. "It’s definitely been stressful. But it was a relief because I didn’t have to try and hide it anymore. I didn’t have to try to pretend.
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"It was a big weight off my shoulders in a way."
Kane in January declared bankruptcy from being $27 million in debt despite this being his 12th season in the NHL. However, coach Bob Boughner has said since from Day 1 he believes Kane is focused solely on the ice, not any distractions away from it. General manager Doug Wilson has re-iterated the same sentiments as well.
To Kane, this is just the end to a tough time in his life.
"For years, I was dealing with all these things," Kane said. "It’s having that constant stress. Everybody has stress. But once I made that decision (to file for bankruptcy), people think it is the start of something. Really, it’s the end of this chapter of my life.
San Jose Sharks
"I think that is where the big misconception is about this."
On the ice, Kane has been great for the Sharks. He has scored 49 points in 55 games, which is two more than he scored all of last season when he appeared in 64 games. His 27 assists are tied for his career-high.
This also is just his third season with a positive plus-minus.
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"Nobody truly knows what I’ve been dealing with or what I’ve dealt with," Kane said. "To have a lot of that removed and off my plate, it allowed me to focus on hockey and finally, actually enjoy coming to the rink and getting on the ice with my teammates and playing the game at a high level.
"It was enjoyable for the first time in a long time."