An investigation by the National Hockey League has concluded that there is no evidence to support the assertion that Evander Kane, a star left wing for the San Jose Sharks, either gambled on NHL games or made any effort to negatively impact the outcome of his own team's games. That conclusion came in an NHL announcement on Thursday which revealed the findings of an investigation into social media posts by Kane's wife.
In July, Kane's estranged wife Anna -- who is in the process of being divorced from Evander -- accused her husband in an Instagram post of both betting on NHL games involving his own team as well as "throwing games with bookies to win money."
In a statement published later, Kane denied the allegations and offered his full cooperation with the NHL's investigation, stating that his wife's claims were motivated by distress concerning their ongoing divorce.
The NHL's investigation included a detailed review of social media posts, public data, and court filings from a bankruptcy proceeding initiated by Kane, his pending divorce proceeding, a review of sports betting data and analysis, and interviews with Kane and other parties involved. The league noted that Anna Kane refused to participate in the investigation.
"The investigation uncovered no evidence to corroborate Ms. Kane's accusations that Mr. Kane bet or otherwise participated in gambling on NHL games, and no evidence to corroborate the allegations that Mr. Kane 'threw' games or did not put forward his best effort to help the Sharks win games," read a league statement. "To the contrary, the evidence raises doubts about the veracity of the allegations."
While the NHL cleared Kane of any wrongdoing in this instance, special note was made of other allegations against the Sharks left wing that have been brought to the league's attention. According to a report by Curtis Pashelka of the East Bay Times, Anna Kane filed a restraining order against Evander in a Santa Clara court this week, claiming that her husband had both physically abused and sexually assaulted her during their marriage.
Evander himself had recently been granted a temporary restraining order against Anna after he alleged his wife had been violent with him, leading Evander's lawyer to call the claims made in Anna's restraining order "retaliatory."
"These allegations are being thoroughly investigated and the National Hockey League will have no further comment regarding their substance pending completion of that process," the NHL noted. "While reserving the right to investigate any new information that might arise relating to the gambling allegations, the National Hockey League now considers that specific matter closed."
