WINNIPEG — Instead of talking about taking on the LA Kings, Winnipeg Jets players were speaking out at Tuesday’s practice about former Jets forward Evander Kane.
Kane spoke harshly about his time in Winnipeg and the Jets organization in The Hockey News magazine out on shelves this week.
While in Winnipeg, Kane made headlines for using a homophobic slur on Twitter, posting pictures of a stack of money to his ear as well as one of him doing push ups with money on his back, not paying a traffic ticket.
READ MORE: Evander Kane takes one last shot at Winnipeg in The Hockey News
“I just didn’t feel as though (the Jets) had my back at all. It would have been so simple to just squash it and put it to bed. It just became kind of a big deal,” Kane told The Hockey News.
Winnipeg Jet forward Chris Thorburn said Tuesday he wasn’t surprise by his former teammate’s comments.
“It’s just unfortunate,” said Thorburn. ” I feel bad that he feels that way, obviously he had some experiences that nobody knows about, including myself.”
WATCH: Winnipeg Jet Chris Thorburn reacts to article on Evander Kane’s Winnipeg experiences
Thorburn said he was close with Kane until Kane was traded to Buffalo last season.
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“He had some bottled up emotions apparently,” Thorburn said, “Those are his feelings and his thoughts.”
In the article Kane said he didn’t feel support in the locker room.
“I’m sacrificing my body playing through the pain, doing everything I can to help that team with the feeling knowing guys don’t have my back,” Kane was quoted.
Paul Maurice told reporters Tuesday it is clear Kane’s feelings towards Winnipeg were there for a while.
WATCH: Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice responds to article on Evander Kane’s feelings about time in Winnipeg
“This is not a one day event and it is clear from his article these are things that bothered him right from the start,” Maurice said. “Regardless of whether we tried to make it better enough for him it didn’t happen and in the end it was a difficult marriage that separated amicably.”
The Hockey News issue featuring Kane hit store shelves Tuesday morning.
As of noon McNally Robinson only had a handful of copies left on shelves and the Dominion News already sold out.
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