NHL clears Evander Kane of gambling wrongdoing
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SAN JOSE — One NHL investigation into San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has ended, but another is just getting started.
The NHL said on Wednesday that its investigation into claims made by Kane’s estranged wife, Anna, this summer that he gambled on league games and tried to throw games “to win money” turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.
However, in its statement, the NHL said additional unrelated allegations are now being examined.
The league did not say what the latest investigation was about, but earlier this week, Anna Kane leveled accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault against the Sharks player in a restraining order application filed in Santa Clara County Family Court.
The NHL said it would have no further comment regarding their latest investigation into Kane “pending completion of that process.”
The Sharks, in a statement issued late Wednesday, said the team and Kane “agreed that he will not be participating” in the Sharks’ training Camp — which begins Thursday — “until further notice.”
The Sharks’ said they were “aware of the additional allegations that are unrelated to the National Hockey League’s initial investigation of Evander Kane. We take the allegations very seriously and have been in communication with the NHL. The League will continue to have our full cooperation regarding the ongoing investigation.”
The NHL on July 31 announced it was opening an investigation into Kane shortly after Anna Kane, on social media, alleged Evander gambled on NHL games and was throwing games to win money – clear violations of league rules.
Evander Kane — in a statement issued a statement via his Twitter account — quickly denied gambling on NHL games or conspiring to fix games, which he reiterated in an interview with ESPN last week.
The NHL said its “extensive” investigation of gambling allegations was conducted by Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in conjunction with NHL Security. The league noted that Anna Kane “refused to participate in the investigation.”
“The investigation included a detailed review of social media, public data, and court filings from the bankruptcy proceeding initiated by Mr. Kane in January 2021 and his pending divorce proceeding; a review of sports betting data and analysis; and in-person and virtual interviews of members of the Sharks organization and others, including Mr. Kane,” the league’s report said.
“The investigation uncovered no evidence to corroborate Ms. Kane’s accusations that Mr. Kane bet or otherwise participated in gambling on NHL games, and no evidence to corroborate the allegations that Mr. Kane ‘threw’ games or did not put forward his best effort to help the Sharks win games. To the contrary, the evidence raises doubts about the veracity of the allegations.
“While Mr. Kane denied the accusations, our findings are not based on these denials but instead on other evidence uncovered during the investigation.
In his filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January, Kane listed assets of $10.2 million and liabilities of $26.8 million. According to the petition, he lost $1.5 million due to gambling “at casino and via bookie (sports betting).” Kane, 30, has earned in excess of $55 million during his 12-year NHL career, according to Spotrac.
The NHL said its investigators analyzed relevant gambling information, provided by Sportradar, going back over two years.
“We requested and received from Sportradar bet monitoring reports and analyses on Sharks games from the latter part of the 2018-19 season, including the 2019 Playoffs, and the 2020-2021 season,” the report said.
“Our review of public and non-public documents relating to Mr. Kane, including data and analysis from a leading sports integrity service, and our interviews of those individuals most familiar with Mr. Kane’s on-ice performance over the past three seasons yielded no evidence to corroborate Ms. Kane’s allegations that her husband gambled on NHL games or ‘threw’ hockey games.”
The NHL said while it reserves the right to investigate any new information that might arise relating to the gambling allegations, it now considers that specific matter closed.
