I think there are a few things that will decide if he plays this year or in the future. First is what teams have the room to handle his ego (or don't care about the room as it's a firesale). Same with a coach. A coach like Sutter could probably handle EK, but then does EK just pout and sulk all season because the room and the coach are treating him like the disobedient kid in class and his leash is too short for him to have a good time. I don't actually think any organization is "too classy" for this signing (though some are more obviously less classy eg. Montreal), so I don't think too much thought is put into how an org looks to the public if signing Kane, and lets face it, they would throw the whole "helping him back to his feet, will be supporting his family" schtick of pressers anyways. I think it will come down to, does management think they can get the production of EK while controlling his problems. Any that do, will be in on signing him, which is another big part of this equation, how much does he expect? Being that one of his issues is ego, is he willing to take league minimum, or does he tell his agent he wants what he was making or close to it? Buyout players usually are okay taking cheaper deals since they are still getting paid, but if EK's contract is terminated, he isn't getting paid. Is league minimum a "slap in the face" to a guy like EK? I would say in the end, he might just sewer himself over what he feels he is worth.
|