It’s just Evander being Evander

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This article was published 03/12/2014 (3939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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This is a catchy sentence, designed to make you want to devour this story about a photo Evander Kane posted to Instagram Monday night.

That sentence could have used the word “controversial,” or maybe even “backlash.” There’s a reason it didn’t.

Here is where we describe that photo, taken in Las Vegas at some indeterminate earlier time. It depicts Kane doing a pushup with six fat stacks of American cash upon his shirtless back. The money, presumably, came at least in part from his lucrative employment at a large sports entertainment business, which is supported by the voluntary expenditures of countless members of the consumer public.

The crux of this story is that Kane, an adult human male, was unrepentant about the decision to post the photo of himself enjoying his ethically and very publicly obtained cash.

“You want to be in good shape,” Kane said Tuesday, after his sports team finished their morning practice. “So I thought, why not do some push-ups while you’re having fun, and get ready for the season a little bit?”

Luckily, nothing else happened anywhere Monday night, which ensured plenty of human resources were available to fully dissect the photo.

“It was taken awhile ago, in good times obviously,” Kane said Tuesday, during four solid minutes of scrum discussion about his Instagram account.

“That’s why people follow you on Instagram, social media, is to see what you’ve done or what you’re up to… And, you know, it’s all in good fun.”

‘That’s why people follow you on Instagram, social media, is to see what you’ve done or what you’re up to… And, you know, it’s all in good fun’

— Evander Kane

At this juncture, it is critical to point out Kane has four goals in 17 games this season. Naturally, the obvious connection of social media to on-ice production raises the question of whether Kane’s Instagram money photo will serve as a “distraction” for his professional unit, which is primarily made up of similarly highly-compensated young male athletes. (One of them, Blake Wheeler, called out in the dressing room that he liked the picture.)

Surely, the head coach will have the final word. “It didn’t change my day one bit,” Paul Maurice said.

“I ran all the same drills, with the same lines. It doesn’t affect the hockey… I mean, it’ll be a distraction for about two minutes for me, right now, and then we’ll move on to the hockey.”

OK, but what did the coach really think about the photo?

“I don’t want to be flippant about it, because it involves the kind of money that people will never see,” Maurice said. “But the funny answer is, it’s good in the off-season they can find a way to throw in an upper-body workout… Listen, this is funny I guess to some. It’s not funny to others. Everybody will view it the way they want to view it.

“Evander Kane comes to training camp in phenomenal shape, he works really hard every day, and he’s doing what we ask him to do on the ice. Whatever thing you enjoy doing on your own time is completely up to you.”

On that note, Evander Kane also plays hockey for the Winnipeg Jets, and is looking forward to hosting the Edmonton Oilers today. He expects the Oilers, who are coming into town on a 10-game winless streak, to be “hungry” to get back in the win column.

“They’ll be champing at the bit, and kind of wanting to get back on the winning train,” he said. “It’s going to be a good test for us.”

Sure. Back to that photo though: ultimately, Kane was not surprised that this story, and many others similar to it, were issued in response to his Instagram photo of money.

“No, I guess not,” he said. “It’s not the first picture I’ve posted like that, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

‘Evander Kane comes to training camp in phenomenal shape, he works really hard every day, and he’s doing what we ask him to do on the ice. Whatever thing you enjoy doing on your own time is… up to you’

— his boss, head coach Paul Maurice

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca