Evander Kane answers teammate’s challenge via Twitter

The Winnipeg Jets need more speed and skill to shine through this year. Given that they have precious little of both, it stands to reason that will have to come from within the organization, which is what Jets forward Blake Wheeler was hinting at when he suggested teammate Evander Kane needed to step up, via ESPN’ Craig Custance. Upon seeing that, Kane tweeted his response.

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Of course, Wheeler wasn’t just targeting Kane when he talked about what the Jets need to secure their first playoff berth since returning to Winnipeg. Custance tweeted shortly another Wheeler quote on what the team needed as a whole, which is to ‘skate teams into the ground.’

Evander Kane might be the best Jets forward to use if you want to skate your opponent into the ground (or ice) given Kane’s speed and skill. Still, it’s interesting to see yet another example of Kane’s candor in the face of criticism, fair or unfair, this time from his own teammate.

At just 23 years old, Kane already has a high profile in his league thanks to a 30-goal season, but he’s also been tied to endless trade rumors thanks to run-ins with his old coaching staff and the media. While this is probably no big deal between Wheeler and Kane, it’s just another sign of inevitability that we’ll point to later on if the Jets do indeed move Kane.