BREAKING: NHL instructed Sharks to 'take care' of the Evander Kane problem

The comments come from infamous Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons, who says the NHL has known about Evander Kane's issues for a long time. Simmons does not claim to have heard anything from sources, but states unequivocally that the league tried to intervene a year ago.

Simmons:

A year ago, maybe longer, someone from the NHL told the San Jose Sharks to deal with their Evander Kane issue.

This is significant because it indicates that both the league and the San Jose Sharks were aware of the ongoing issues with Kane long before they reached the boiling point that they have now.

Anna Kane, Kane's wife, recently criticised him publicly for his faithfulness, spending habits, and of course his infamous gambling problems. What made his wife's accusations so damning was that she publicly accused him of both betting on NHL games and fixing their outcomes for the bookies he gambles with.

But it's one thing to draw criticism from NHL fans and another to have your own wife unload on you via social media. According to Matt Porter of the Boston Globe, some of Kane's own teammates can't stand being around him.

"When he walks into a room, the flowers wilt," said an agent with Sharks clients.

If the NHL intervened and told the Sharks to 'take care' of Kane a year ago, as Simmons claims, then things were already very bad for Kane at that point. It's not good for Kane's future in the NHL that he didn't get the message, even from the league.