Evander Kane has taken a lot of heat lately. Based on his personality and the market he plays in here, that is to be expected. There’s been a new angle taken by some of the local media lately (Gary Lawless in particular from what I have heard), attacking Kane by saying that he doesn’t work with his teammates. That he’s a selfish player. That he makes his teammates worse. These statements have been given increased “fuel” lately with the sudden improvement in play from Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi correlating with his removal from the lineup. Thus begs the question, does Evander Kane really make his teammates worse?

The best way I could think of to examine this was looking at what really matters most in my eyes: puck possession and goals scored. It’s what Evander is expected to do, and what people look at most when making these statements. I could have also included shooting locations, penalty kill time, power play issues, etc. in this article, but I wanted to look more directly at how the people Evander plays with change on a fundamental level with and without him.

Therefore, in each of the following charts you will see the amount of time spent on the ice (TOI), what percentage of the goals scored were by the Jets (GF%), and what percentage of the shot attempts were by the Jets – an indicator of possession (CF%) in various time periods (either the last five years, or this season). All my data came from stats.hockeyanalysis.com.

We will look at the numbers while Evander is on the ice with some of the forwards/centers he has spent time with, while Evander is away from those same players, and while those players are away from Evander. This will give us an idea as to the effects that Evander has on the players he is with, and the effect that these players have on Evander.

Let’s start with the obvious. Evander Kane spent more time with Alex Burmistrov than any other forward during this time period. Remember him? That cast-off who Claude Noel chased away because Olli Jokinen was clearly a superior second line guy to play with Evander? Well the stats (and anyone with eyes) speak otherwise. In fact, Burmi and Kane worked very well together. While playing with Evander, Burmistrov’s numbers rose quite substantially in both aspects, indicating to me that Kane made him a better player. That’s not to say Burmistrov contributed nothing to the relationship, as Kane’s numbers were actually among their lowest totals when he was away from him as well. That seems like the kind of pairing and production that the Jets really could use, does it not?

How about Evander’s history with the man who is unquestionably the Jets best center in Bryan Little? Sixty percent of the goals scored with those two on the ice together over the last five years have belonged to the Jets. That’s insanely high. In fact, it’s about 11% higher than when Bryan Little has played without Evander. It’s also about 14% higher than the time Evander has spent away from Little. Granted the Corsi-for percentage slightly drops for Bryan when the two are together, but we know that Andrew Ladd was a corsi monster last year and that goal production is hard to ignore. So clearly, Evander Kane doesn’t make the Jets best center worse at the very least. I would argue he makes him even better. Yet since Olli Jokinen arrived, the two have barely seen any time together (less than 50 minutes total 5 on 5 last season).

What about Kyle Wellwood? He saw among the lowest total of players who still saw a reasonable amount of time with Kane. They must not have worked well together. After all, Kyle was forced into retirement this year because nobody (the Jets included) wanted to see him come back. Well, take a look. The possession time when those two were together was spectacular. Both players benefitted from this situation. Evander even more so. Yet Wellwood was the odd man out this year.

Now let’s take a look at Olli Jokinen (who saw the most time with Evander last year), and Nik Antropov (who saw the second most). In these two cases, Lawless’ statements are somewhat justified. These two do see their production drop when they are on the ice with Evander Kane, just as Kane’s production drops when he is with them. So the question now arises, why did he spend so much time with them last year?

Let me get this straight. Two of the players who Evander played best with, and helped make BETTER, are no longer with the team because of an issue with the coach, and a decision by management.  Instead he plays almost exclusively with the two players that he has historically played the worst with. But somehow this is the player’s fault?

That’s ridiculous.

Those decisions and mistakes fall directly on poor coaching, and bad decisions by the management. The players were there last year to help the Jets succeed and play better, but poor decision-making and a stubborn attitude prevented them from happening. 

Just like last season, Evander has spent most of his time with Olli Jokinen. And just as it has been in the past, of all the potential centers available, this is the worst choice Claude Noel could be making. Again, Lawless is indeed correct here. Olli Jokinen has played a lot better when he isn’t with Evander. I guess we can throw Blake Wheeler in there too, but that is pretty much where it ends.

Mark Scheifele’s GF% numbers stay the same with or without Evander, but his Corsi-For% increases by 3%. Devin Setoguchi even has his CF% increase with Evander, and despite the drop in the GF%, the two of them together still result in 60% of the goals going the Jets way.

The jump though, comes with Bryan Little. Understandably the sample size for this season is quite low, but it is very meaningful. Similar to what has been shown in the past, Little’s play improves when he is with Evander Kane. Yet, he has only seen 75 minutes of ice time with Kane this season. The top line of Little Ladd and Wheeler hasn’t been as consistently dominant this season, so why not try something new? Why not see what a line of Kane – Little – Setoguchi could do? Then we would see how Evander could, in fact, make his line mates better.

In no way am I blaming Olli Jokinen for this. He is not the type of player that meshes well with Evander Kane. He is a big-bodied, shoot first center. What about Bryan Little and Mark Scheifele? Historically, Bryan Little has been a much better puck distributor and playmaker. Mark Scheifele is a highly skilled playmaker. Alex Burmistrov? Great hands, and can move the puck. Kyle Wellwood? Same thing.

Claude Noel has Evander Kane playing with the worst possible person for him. He is trying to make a square piece fit in a circle slot, and instead of looking at himself as the problem, has simply grabbed a bigger hammer in an attempt to force this to work. The Jets had the answer internally, but Coach Noel was too stubborn to use it. Management then decided to go elsewhere to try to find that solution. Heck, they still have at least a better answer internally. Will Claude try to fix this? Or will he continue to try to make this situation work despite the overwhelming evidence against it, no matter the cost?

It’s no surprise to me that Evander spoke out about Claude’s decision making earlier this season. I would be pissed at what’s going on as well. So the next time you hear that Evander Kane is the problem, that he makes his teammates worse, or that he causes the Jets more problems than he does good, I want you to remember this article. I want you to remember that Claude Noel has options that have worked previously, and I want you to remember the following statements:

Evander’s numbers are suffering because of Claude’s decisions.

The team is suffering because of them.

Evander can make players better.

He CAN succeed with his teammates. His past has shown that.

He just needs to be given the chance to play with the right ones.