Evander Kane is headed to the KHL

The news came from the man who'd know best. Milstein, Kane's agent, went on the show himself and said his client is done waiting on an NHL call.

About 10 minutes later David Pagnotta had the details: Kane's career keeps going, he's headed to the KHL, and the agreement gets finalized this week. Nobody has said which club yet. Back in August, Russian outlet Sport-Express reported that Ak Bars Kazan was considering signing him, but there's no confirmation that's where he's landing.

David Pagnotta

@TheFourthPeriod

Evander Kane’s playing career is continuing. He will be heading to the KHL - an agreement is being finalized this week.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

"Evander Kane decided to take his talents to Russia" Dan Milstein breaks that his client, Evander Kane will play this season in the KHL. @JeffMarek | @TheFourthPeriod Presented by @bet365ca #bet365 📺: t.co/jkiYPNw5xM 🎧: t.co/oZos5evr8h t.co/Af0YAR6VqA

So how did a guy with 339 career goals end up here? He went unsigned all summer and into the season. Vancouver got Kane from Edmonton in June 2025 for a 4th-round pick to bring some snarl to the middle six, and it didn't work. He put up 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 71 games on a Canucks team that finished last. He did get his 1,000th NHL game on March 30, 2026. After that the rebuilding Canucks let him walk.

Look at the whole résumé. He went 4th overall in 2009 and played 1,001 regular-season games for the Thrashers, Jets, Sabres, Sharks, Oilers and Canucks, with 648 points and 1,278 penalty minutes. He was a real power forward who could score, and he was never far from drama. San Jose terminated his contract in 2021-22 over a COVID-19 protocol breach, and Edmonton picked him up after that.

He's been to the KHL before, too. During the 2012 NHL lockout Kane played for Dynamo Minsk and had 1 goal in 12 games. This time is different. That was a stopgap while the NHL was shut down. This is a 35-year-old who couldn't find an NHL deal taking the best offer on the table, and Milstein, who has deep ties to the Russian hockey world, was always the most likely agent to find him one.

Next up is the team name and the signature, and both should come this week if Pagnotta's timeline holds. The bigger question is whether this is the last stop or a way back. Plenty of guys have gone to Russia to prove they can still play. At Kane's age, though, it's hard not to read this as the end of his NHL career.