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Sabres’ Kane: ‘I’m definitely glad to be moving on’

Winnipeg Jets v Pittsburgh Penguins

Winnipeg Jets v Pittsburgh Penguins

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Its been a crazy eight days for the newest member of the Buffalo Sabres.

It all began on Feb. 3 when Evander Kane was a healthy scratch as the Winnipeg Jets visited the Vancouver Canucks. It concluded Wednesday afternoon when the 23-year-old was dealt to Buffalo in a multi-player trade.

Speaking to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Kane says he’s looking forward to moving on.

“There’s definitely a lot more to it than some of the funny story lines that came out,” said Kane. “Sometimes you have to just let a story die and I guess that’s what we’ll do. But it was definitely disappointing with how everything shook out and some of the information was misconstrued, misleading, some of the facts kind of came out wrong or didn’t come out at all. That’s to be expected.

“But I’m definitely glad to be moving on and I’m going to have a fresh start with a new team. I’m looking forward to the future for sure.”

One of the things that rubbed Kane the wrong way is the notion he elected to have surgery on his shoulder when he could’ve waited until the season was over.

“I had it [shoulder injury] last year and it got worse over the last two months,” Kane said. “And actually, when they went in there to do the surgery, they found a hole in my shoulder as well and some other things they had to fix. It was a little more complicated than everyone thought at first, so it’s really good we got it fixed now.

“That some people thought I was having surgery just to end my season, that’s so not true. That’s the biggest thing I want to make clear.”

Kane said the pain reached a point last week where could no longer play through it.

“It’s just common sense that I would have wanted to play in my hometown in front of friends and family where I know everyone has tickets to the game,” said Kane, who played through a fracture ankle and a fractured hand this season. “Of course I would have wanted to. But unfortunately, it comes to a point where you just can’t do it anymore because of the things I was going through. I couldn’t do what I needed to do out there. It (his shoulder) would come out twice in a period, once a period, sometimes it wouldn’t come out. It was tough to judge and get a feel for it.”

In the second game following the All-Star Break, a loss in Philadelphia on Jan. 29, Kane’s shoulder problems worsened.

“It came out twice in the third period and it just became harder and harder to continue. It was getting worse. I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where it would become possibly career-threatening or maybe not be able to recover fully.”

As for the tracksuit incident with teammate Dustin Byfuglien, Kane said he had no real issue with it.

“I’m actually one of the guys that doesn’t mind that kind of stuff, to be honest,” he said. “That’s kind of a funny part for me hearing all this. I’m a pretty tough guy mentally and physically. I think if people thought it was just about that, that’s fine. That gives me a pretty good laugh.”

Kane spent six seasons with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise scoring 109 goals and 222 points in 361 games.

He’s excited for the fresh start Buffalo presents.

“Once I talked to [Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray] and talked to my agent [Craig Oster of Newport Sports], there’s a lot of excitement for the future in Buffalo,” said Kane. “Just looking at next year, they’re going to get a top pick and that’s exciting. Just to have one of those two guys maybe to play with next year, plus the other young players on that team.

“The sense I got from Buffalo is that, yes they’re rebuilding but they’re not going to sit around and wait. They’re looking to do something now. It’s nice to go somewhere where you feel wanted and you feel that they want to put you in a situation to have success.”

Follow @dcmahiban