Claims that San Jose Sharks left wing Evander Kane bet on his own games have been denied by the former star player with the Langley-based Vancouver Giants.
An investigation was announced Saturday after Kane’s wife Anna made the charges in a social media post directed at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:
“Can someone ask Gary Bettman how they let a player gamble on his own games? Bet and win with bookies on his own games?”
A National Hockey League statement said the league “takes these allegations very seriously. We intend to conduct a full investigation and will have no further comment at this time.”
READ ALSO: Gambling debts revealed in details of bankruptcy filing by hockey star Evander Kane
Kane issued a statement describing the claims as “completely false allegations that my estranged wife and soon to be ex has made against me.”
“Even against the advice of my legal team I feel strongly that the public and fans hear this directly from me. I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER GAMBLED/BET on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game. I look forward to cooperating with the league’s investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season.”
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane_9) August 1, 2021
Kane also commented on his wife’s accusation in another social media post that he abandoned his daughter and went to Europe for a vacation after telling her their house was “being taken by the bank” while “you party every day every night, never calling your daughter and never asking not even one time how I’m doing by myself.”
Kane said that he has tried to see his daughter, but has been restricted by his wife.
“I have had some FaceTime calls and visits with her, not every day as I would like to,” said Kane.
“I would encourage people to realize that someone who goes to this length to jeopardize someone’s career with lies is mentally unwell,” Kane added.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim filed on behalf of Kane in the Northern District of California in San Jose on Jan. 9, under the heading of losses due to “theft, fire, other disaster or gambling,” listed $1.5 million “gambling at casino and via bookie (sports betting).”
In the filing, Kane lists assets of $10 million and liabilities of $27 million.
U.S. media reported the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas had dropped a lawsuit against Kane for allegedly failing to repay $500,000 in casino markers. Kane reportedly ran up a tab when the Sharks were playing the Golden Knights in Las Vegas during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2019.
The 1991-born Kane was drafted 19th overall in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft by the now-Langley-based Vancouver Giants.
READ ALSO: Former Giants reminisce about 2007 Memorial Cup win
He went on to appear in two Memorial Cup games, tallying an assist as part of the Giants’ 2007 Memorial Cup championship.
Kane, 29, is three seasons into a $49 million, seven-year contract. According to Capfriendly, which charts hockey salaries, he has made just under $56 million during his NHL career.
Last season, he had 22 goals and 27 assists in 56 games.
- with files from Associated Press
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