- Evander Kane is still unsigned six weeks into NHL free agency
- His next deal projects near the league minimum with bonuses attached
- Read below for the teams that fit and what Kane did in Vancouver
Evander Kane is still waiting on an NHL offer, and the asking price has fallen through the floor.
The 1,000-game winger has no contract for 2026-27 six weeks into free agency, and Pro Hockey Rumors projected Wednesday that his next one lands near the league minimum with performance bonuses attached.
Their comparable is Lars Eller, who took an $850,000 base salary from Florida on July 1 with another $250,000 available in bonuses. Best case is what Corey Perry got from the Kings, a $1 million salary plus up to $500,000 more.
A professional tryout is on the table too, if a team wants to see him skate before committing to anything.
Tampa Bay reads as the cleanest fit. The Lightning swapped Perry out for Ilya Mikheyev this summer and could still open camp with Zemgus Girgensons or Pontus Holmberg in the top nine.
Minnesota, Vegas and the Rangers all need more scoring in their top nine, and all three are pressed up against the cap ceiling. A minimum-salary winger is about all any of them can add.
Vancouver never got the version of Kane it traded for. He scored 13 goals and 31 points in 71 games, finished minus-20 and led the Canucks in penalty minutes with 92.
He was still useful on the power play, picking up six of those points on the second unit as one of six Vancouver forwards with 100-plus minutes on the man advantage.
Kane hit 1,000 games in Vegas on March 30 after missing all of 2024-25, and the Canucks threw him a ceremony at Rogers Arena when the team got home. Watch the tribute:
His career line reads 1,001 games, 339 goals, 648 points and 1,278 penalty minutes. He’s also only two years removed from a 24-goal, 44-point season in Edmonton, so a bonus-heavy one-year deal could turn into a bargain.
Check out his mic’d-up night from the milestone game in Vegas:
Russia is still hanging around the edges of this. Ak Bars Kazan has been linked to Kane, who turned 35 on Aug. 2.
Camps open next month. Every quiet week makes Kazan look less like a rumor.
