A timeline of Evander Kane's growing collection of controversies

Evander Kane has been in the news for months and it seldom has to do with his on-ice performance. Kane was released by the San Jose Sharks on January 8 after violating COVID-19 protocols, having previously served a 21-game suspension for submitting a fake vaccination card last October.

Kane has been involved in several controversies throughout his career, and here is a timeline of notable events:

April 3, 2014: Vancouver resident Lev Makievsky files a lawsuit against Kane, alleging that he was assaulted by him on August 30, 2013, while returning home from work. Makievsky states that he suffered a concussion and has an unspecified permanent physical disability from the alleged incident.

June 12, 2014: Kane admits that he threw three punches at Makievsky, but claims it was out of self-defense. It is revealed that Kane’s lawyers filed a response to Makievsky’s lawsuit, stating that Kane has known him for four years and did not instigate the fight. Kane’s lawyers wrote that Makievsky swung at Kane, Kane threw three punches and knocked him down.

Vancouver Police investigated the incident and declined to charge Kane.

Kane would later tell reporters in 2015 that he didn’t feel supported by the Winnipeg Jets — his team at the time — through his legal issues.

February 15, 2016: Kane misses practice and is suspended one game by the Buffalo Sabres. He attended the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto and told Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma and general manager Tim Murray that he would not be attending practice.

"He slept in, called Tim and myself, broke a team rule," Bylsma said to The Buffalo News. "We'll be dealing with it internally but he will not be playing in Ottawa. I'm disappointed."

“It's something that I can promise you won't happen again and it's something I'm definitely going to learn from,” Kane told reporters the following day.

August 21, 2016: Rachel Kuechle, a 21-year-old woman from Buffalo files a civil lawsuit against Kane on July 1, 2016 in Erie County State Supreme Court, alleging Kane sexually assaulted her in the hotel room he was living in on December 26, 2015.

Kuechle states that she met Kane at Encore Restaurant in Buffalo, he invited her to a party under false pretenses, and then assaulted her in his room at the Buffalo Marriott Harborcenter, which caused injuries that led to emotional trauma and required multiple surgeries.

No criminal complaint was ever filed against Kane.

Aaron Besecker of The Buffalo News reported on September 20, 2016 that Kane filed a counterclaim against Kuechle, calling her lawsuit against him a “sham.”

Kane’s counterclaim was dismissed in court in 2018.

October 31, 2016: A judge agrees to dismiss four charges of non-criminal harassment and one charge of criminal trespassing against Kane on the condition that he remains out of future trouble — known as an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal.

The case stems from a June 24, 2016 incident where Kane was alleged to have grabbed three women by their hair and neck in separate incidents at Bottoms Up, a Buffalo nightclub. Kane was arrested in July 2016.

“Evander has steadfastly maintained that he did nothing wrong,” Kane’s lawyer, Paul Cambria, told reporters after the hearing.

November 4, 2019: The Cosmopolitan — a Las Vegas casino — files a lawsuit against Kane over an unpaid gambling debt worth $500,000 USD. In the lawsuit, The Cosmopolitan stated that Kane was given $500,000 worth in gambling markers while he was visiting during the Sharks’ playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Cosmopolitan demanded restitution along with all legal fees incurred from the lawsuit.

January 11, 2021: Kane files for chapter 7 bankruptcy in California, with $26.8 million in debt, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan.

July 31, 2021-August 1, 2021: Anna Kane — Evander Kane’s estranged wife — makes a series of posts on her Instagram story alleging Kane bet on his own games. In response, the NHL immediately stated that it would conduct an investigation into the betting allegations.

“You have enough money to party and stay in hotels in Europe, go to dinners every night, but I can’t buy my daughter formula and [you] force me to sell my wedding ring to have any money to survive, as you party every day, every night, never calling your daughter and never asking, not even one time, how I’m doing by myself,” Anna Kane wrote.

Anna also alleged that Kane abandoned her and their daughter to party in Europe, while their house was being seized as part of his gambling debts. She filed for divorce on July 16, 2021.

Evander Kane responded to the allegations with a lengthy Twitter post.

August 24, 2021: A federal bankruptcy judge named Stephen Johnson allows for a go-ahead for discovery in a lawsuit filed against Kane by Hope Parker, who alleges that he pulled out of an agreement to pay her $2 million if she aborted her pregnancy.

Parker is allowed to request electronic correspondence and testimony from Kane as a result of the judgment.

“Plaintiff (Parker) was unwilling to terminate the third pregnancy until Defendant (Kane) offered her two to three million dollars to do so,” Johnson wrote.

September 22, 2021: Anna Kane files a domestic violence restraining order application as part of her divorce case, which includes sexual assault and several domestic battery allegations against Evander Kane.

Evander Kane had previously received a temporary restraining order against Anna in August 2021, alleging that she had hit him in the face several times during an argument.

In a separate statement, the NHL said it found no evidence that Kane had bet on his own games.

October 18, 2021: Kane is suspended 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccine card.

In a subsequent release, the NHL stated that the domestic violence allegations levied by Anna Kane against Evander Kane could not be substantiated during their investigation.

October 28, 2021: The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan files an extensive report with further detail into Kuechle’s five-year-old lawsuit against Kane. After Kane filed for bankruptcy in January 2021, the case was automatically stayed and Kuechle requested a federal bankruptcy case to partially lift the stay.

Kuechle filed a $3-million claim against Kane, as revealed in his bankruptcy disclosure.

Judge Stephen Johnson scheduled the next hearing in Kuechle’s case against Kane for May 19, 2022.

November 23, 2021: Evander Kane claims that Anna Kane lied to him about being pregnant, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

As part of his claim, Evander Kane asked the courts for full custody of their daughter.

November 28, 2021: Kane is waived by the Sharks upon completion of his suspension and is demoted to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

November 30, 2021: Kane meets with the media for the first time after serving his suspension where he tersely reveals that he’s fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“I’ve served my time, did my 21 games and now I’m back,” Kane tells reporters.

Kane also addresses the allegations levied by Anna Kane that he had bet on Sharks games. The NHL cleared him of these allegations on September 22, 2021.

"It was definitely not great to be associated with that at the time," Kane said. "But they investigated me heavily ... found what they found, which is nothing."

January 8, 2022: Kane is placed on unconditional waivers with intent to terminate his contract by the Sharks for violation of the AHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

San Jose said it will not comment further on the matter.

January 12, 2022: Connor McDavid preemptively comes to Evander Kane’s defense, stating that he’s indifferent to public opinion surrounding the optics of potentially acquiring him as a free agent. McDavid says he fully supports Oilers GM Ken Holland and draws near-unanimous criticism for his unprompted defense of Kane.

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