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The veteran winger found fun, fortune and failure in a checkered career and plays his 1,000th game Monday in Las Vegas
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Published Mar 30, 2026 • Last updated 39 minutes ago • 5 minute read
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Veteran winger Evander Kane of the Vancouver Canucks exuded confidence at outset of this NHL to reward franchise faith with its roll of the trade dice. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty ImagesArticle content
There’s irony in Evander Kane reaching the 1,000-game NHL plateau in Las Vegas on Monday.
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The left winger found fun, fortune, success and failure with five teams in a checkered career. Kind of like visits to the roulette table in Sin City. Win some, lose some.
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The Vancouver Canucks rolled the trade dice on the east Vancouver native, challenging his better days to make a difference this season.
Kane, who had 24 goals with the Edmonton Oilers in 2023-24, and a dozen gritty playoff points last season, was supposed to score, plus create time and space for Elias Pettersson to return to top form. After all, Kane has hit the 20-goal mark nine times and twice reached 30 goals.
However, on both accounts, it was a gamble that didn’t pay off. Kane lost pace and effectiveness in those pursuits on an expiring US$5.125 million contract. And Pettersson lost his way in another sour season with a last-place club that was hammered 7-3 in Calgary on Saturday to open a four-game trip.
Kane, 34, takes just 12 goals and uncertain future as an unrestricted free agent into a tough test against the Golden Knights, who made a coaching change Sunday afternoon. They have replaced bench boss Bruce Cassidy with former Canucks head coach John Tortorella, whose firing from the Philadelphia Flyers led to Rick Tocchet’s hiring on May 14.
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Tortorella is expected to be behind the bench Monday.
“We believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said of his 32-26-16 club that’s clinging to third place in the Pacific Division and is on a 3-5-2 slide.
“With John Tortorella, we bring in a Stanley Cup Champion as well as one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NHL. His guidance will be a great asset to our team at the pivotal point in the season we currently face.”
Meanwhile, Pettersson has but 15 goals and leads the Canucks with just 45 points. That’s how bad this season has been for the NHL’s worst offence, which has averaged just 2.50 goals per game.
The Canucks had 34 shots against the Flames but are allowing a league-high 3.76 goals per outing.
The franchise commitment to a rebuild comes with promise and pain. And amid discouraging losses, and setting a franchise record for fewest home-ice wins in a full season, you’d think Kane would wonder what his future holds.
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He hasn’t given it a second thought, even with just one goal in his last 10 games and leading his club with 92 penalty minutes. He sees Corey Perry still playing at age 40 on his seventh NHL team.
“I have a lot left in the tank,” Kane told Postmedia. “There are lots of guys older than me who are still playing.”
Kane wasn’t moved at the March 6 trade deadline and his 16-team approved trade list may have had something to do with not landing a draft pick to further the rebuild.
“It was a situation that came right down to the wire and nothing materialized,” said Kane.
In the interim, paying it forward to reduce the rebuild struggle for young players is vital. Playing better is the best example and that should be Kane’s focus in 10 remaining games. Guiding a winger like budding 22-year-old power forward Liam Ohgren would help salvage the season.
“I’ve been trying to help the young guys all year and we’re getting to a point where they’re starting to understand and get it,” said Kane. “Ohgren has some really good attributes and is a strong guy, who has a hard shot and can skate. A lot of likes about his skill set.”
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Here are three things to watch Monday:
Joel Farabee celebrates first-period goal against Nikita Tolopilo at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Saturday. Photo by Larry MacDougal /The Canadian Press1. Second period kryptonite is killer
The Canucks fold like a cheap lawn chair when adversity strikes in the middle frame.
On Saturday, they surrendered three goals in a span of 3:15 in the second period to turn a close contest into a laugher. There was plenty of blame with poor positioning, decisions and goaltending. The Canucks have been shockingly outscored 103-58 in that 20-minute segment.
No team has given up that many or scored that few.
“We get caught a little bit on shifts in our end and go a little bit rogue and get a little bit loose in our structure,” said Canucks head coach Adam Foote. “If it doesn’t go our way for a couple of shifts, we have to stay with it. We have to be connected as five and mange it.
“We have to be stronger mentally when that happens.”
2. Elias Pettersson teases, seldom pleases
Pettersson continues to confuse. When the spirit moves the skilled centre, he’s effective at both ends of the ice and it was evident Saturday. And when not engaged, he often remains that lingering riddle in the middle.
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Pettersson turned back the competitive clock against the Flames. His defensive awareness on the backcheck produced a neutral-zone turnover to spring a 2-on-1 which. It resulted in Ohgren burying a cross-ice feed from Linus Karlsson.
Pettersson set up two goals, had three shots, eight attempts, and won 11 of 20 faceoffs.
He has seven points in the last six outings, including a two-goal game, and if anybody needs a run of sustained momentum it’s him. We won’t remember this points pace as much as Pettersson going 20 games without a goal before finally finding the net March 17.
3. Nikita Tolopilo’s rust shouldn’t test trust
What do the Canucks have in Tolopilo? We would all like to know.
The club seemed more intent on trying to manufacture a rare victory by giving inconsistent Kevin Lankinen five-straight starts in which he went 1-4-0 and gave up 17 goals, including six to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It seemed like a reset-on-the-fly try rather than alternating starts to get a better read on the 6-foot-6 and undrafted Tolopilo. He’s 25 years old and, raw but intriguing. And what better way to gauge his game than giving him the net in at least five of the last 10 games?
Tolopilo was beat on two of the first four shots and four of 11 and yanked. He shouldn’t sit long.
“We have to be better for Tolo and I know he wanted a couple of those (goals) back,” said Foote. “It was little details and missing box-outs in front of our net. But he was pushing himself out of the net and losing confidence and I wanted to protect him.”
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