WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets will make their push for the playoffs without forward Evander Kane.
He will undergo left shoulder surgery and be out for four to six months, head coach Paul Maurice said Friday.
Kane, a former 30-goal scorer, has 10 goals and 12 assists in 37 games this season. He was a healthy scratch for Winnipeg’s 3-2 overtime loss in Vancouver on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Evander Kane’s relationship with the Winnipeg Jets in question
When Kane missed practice Thursday, Maurice said the winger was seeing team doctors for an undisclosed ailment that has bothered him all season. Reports initially indicated Kane was benched because he broke the team’s dress code by wearing a track suit instead of a suit to a team meeting.
The benching only heightened speculation about Kane’s long-term future with the club.
A source confirmed to The Canadian Press that Kane had a run-in with teammates the day of the Vancouver game that included Dustin Byfuglien throwing Kane’s track suit into the shower.
Jets players aren’t saying what happened in Vancouver but keep using words like accountability and respect.
Kane’s agent, Craig Oster of Newport Sports, told Global News Friday he doesn’t know what happened in Vancouver.
“I don’t think a lot of us know a lot of the facts of what happened. What I do know factually is that Paul Maurice made a decision to not have Evander play. Since then we’ve learned that Evander’s shoulder injury has continued to deteriorate all season long and that The Jets medical staff together with Evander have decided that he needs surgery,” said Oster.
READ MORE: Evander Kane a healthy scratch for Winnipeg Jets
Kane also missed a game in Toronto last season after Maurice benched him for another undisclosed reason. The 23-year-old Vancouver native has also raised eyebrows with photos he posted on social media showing him talking into a stack of cash instead of a cellphone and doing a pushup with a bundle of money on his back.
The 26-18-9 Jets hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 61 points. The Canucks are two points behind but have three games in hand.
Kane was placed on the injured reserve list retroactive to Monday. He is now expected to be placed on long-term injured reserve.
Oster skirted the issue when asked if Kane wants to stay in Winnipeg. “I think the answer has always been the he’s a Winnipeg Jet and what I do know factually is that Evander has played a lot of games for the Winnipeg jets.”
Oster continued “he’s played this entire season injured for the Winnipeg Jets, I think he plays hard and I think he’s played very well for the Winnipeg Jets.”
The Jets could still trade Kane while he’s injured, but the other team would have to sign off on his injury.
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