San Jose Sharks Evander Kane is expecting to be cleared in the NHL’s investigation into his wife’s accusations that he wagered on his own games and threw games to benefit his gambling. Anna Kane, his estranged wife, wrote on social media in July that Evander wagered on games “with bookies.”
She wrote, “How does the NHL let a compulsive gambling addict still play when he’s obviously throwing games to win money?”
Kane has denied betting on games or playing based on bets he made, but has said he had a gambling addiction.
On Thursday, Kane said, (via ESPN):
“Obviously [the accusations are] incredibly false. It’s unfortunate that transpired, and it’s unfortunate that those false allegations were made. I understood the magnitude of them immediately. I know [they’re] not true. I know none of what she was saying was true. I was very confident, comfortable with knowing that I was going to be exonerated and am going to be exonerated of those allegations.”
League rules note that “gambling on any NHL game is prohibited.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN they expect to know the result of the investigation in a full report ahead of the start training camps next week.
Kane’s gambling addiction has lead to severe debt.
“I had my daughter [Kensington]. I filed for bankruptcy. These are decisions that obviously I didn’t take lightly,” he said. “I knew part of the reason of why I was where I was, was because of gambling. I’m not going to go back to that point in my life. So gambling can’t continue to live with me. And I’ve understood that.”
He stated he lost $1.5 million gambling over 12 months and filed for bankruptcy.
Some reports state the teammates are not interesting in Kane returning to San Jose. The 12-year veteran says he doesn’t “necessarily know or believe” that there is an issue with the teammates.
“I’ve heard rumors about me being traded. Well, I have a [no-trade] list that they can only trade me to and I haven’t even been asked for it, so I’m not getting traded. And I would know about it first,” he said.
