Evander Kane, San Jose Sharks settle contract grievance

The San Jose Sharks and former forward Evander Kane have settled a grievance over his contract termination last season before the matter would have gone to arbitration.

The NHLPA filed a grievance on behalf of Kane in January after the Sharks terminated his deal, citing a breach of his contract and a violation AHL COVID-19 protocols. Kane was in the fourth year of a seven-year, $49 million contract that paid him $7 million on average annually.

Kane signed a free agent contract with the Edmonton Oilers last season and then signed a four-year extension with the Oilers this summer.

An NHL source tells ESPN that the settlement is expected to bridge the gap between the money owed Kane by the Sharks and the money he's making on his new deal with the Oilers.

Kane was due $19 million in salary for the last three years of his San Jose contract. The first three years of his new deal with the Oilers pay him a combined $16.5 million in salary. An NHL source believed the settlement will generate a cap hit that will be retroactively applied to the 2021-22 Sharks' salary cap. They finished last season with around $4.9 million in cap space.

«The agreement has been approved by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association,» the Sharks said in a statement. «We are satisfied that its terms will not adversely impact the team, either financially or competitively, in this or future seasons.»

Kane's agent Dan Milstein declined comment to ESPN. Milstein said at the time of the grievance that «the Sharks do not have sufficient grounds for taking this action.»

The NHLPA said in a statement that it is «pleased to have the matter between Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks resolved.»

The split between the Sharks and Kane began before the 2021-22