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Ex-Vancouver Canucks president Trevor Linden doesn't seem to like the Kane trade

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Jun 25 2025, 9:33 pm
Ex-Vancouver Canucks president Trevor Linden doesn't seem to like the Kane trade
Bob Frid/Imagn Images

Vancouver Canucks fans aren’t the only ones questioning Wednesday’s trade that saw them bring in Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers.

While Kane can still be an effective player, as proven by his six goals and 12 points in the playoffs, he carries a $5.125 million cap hit for the 2025-26 season. Given the tough cap situation the Oilers were in, they were expected to have to retain on any Kane trade, but were instead able to offload his entire contract to the Canucks while also receiving a fourth-round pick.

Though Kane has just one year remaining on his contract, there are not only injury concerns, but character ones. Though the 33-year-old stayed out of trouble in Edmonton, that hasn’t been the case in the past, and bringing him into a Canucks dressing room that had its fair share of drama last season seems to be a concerning factor for former team president Trevor Linden.

“You talk about the dressing room, and there have certainly been those issues in Evander’s past,” Linden said in an appearance on Global BC. “Having said that, he’s a guy that can bring a certain type of hockey to that locker room. I’m sure Edmonton wanted to move salary out, and Vancouver was able to take salary on.

“For Edmonton to trade him to a divisional rival is interesting. But, for Vancouver, they, I think, are in a win-now type of mode… Adding a player like this, maybe that puts them in a position to compete for the Pacific Division again, which is very possible.”

Though Linden did wind up complimenting Kane’s overall game, the tone in which he spoke and the hesitation with which he delivered some of his lines all seemed quite telling. It’s clear that there are many concerned about this acquisition, though it will be up to Kane to prove those detractors wrong.

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