Evander Kane made a healthy scratch for violating team dress code
Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane was a healthy scratch Tuesday night for violating the team’s dress code.
Tuesday, the Winnipeg Jets were preparing to head to Vancouver to face-off against the Vancouver Canucks. One Jets player in particular was very excited for the game.
Evander Kane, a Vancouver, British Columbia native, was excited to go back home and play against his home-town team. Except, Kane didn’t make it into the lineup that night.
Before the game, head coach Paul Maurice made Kane a healthy scratch for the game. The only explanation he would give for making the 23-year old forward a healthy scratch was that it was a ‘coaches decision.’
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It was a surprising move to say the least, as Kane is without a doubt one of the Jets, if not the most, skilled players on the team. To make him a healthy scratch when he’s getting ready to play his hometown team is even more surprising. Kane has 10 goals and 12 assists through 37 games so far this season.
He has been playing through an undisclosed injury this season, which is why he’s only played 37 games this season. So, initial reaction to Kane being scratched was that it was injury related and they wanted to give him a rest. That theory went away when he was named a healthy scratch and the reasoning for it had nothing to do with his injury.
First reports that came out Wednesday morning were that Kane was late for a team bus and that was the reasoning for being made a healthy scratch. Now it seems that it was because Kane wore a track suit to the arena before the game, instead of a regular suit.
While you may think this is a bit harsh, it’s really not.
Every team has this dress code of wearing a suit and tie to the arena before the game. So, first of all, Kane should have no reason not to remember that he has to wear a suit to the game. Second, it’s violating a team rule and every player has to be held accountable, no matter who he is.
Teams institute this dress code mainly to have a sense of professionalism. Yes, you’re going to play a hockey game, but, for a hockey player, going to play a hockey game is just like going to the office. You’re going to work, so you need to dress like it. Also, it’s a form of team bonding, where everyone is dressed the same way going to the game. It also has to do with the mantra of ‘look good, feel good, play good.’
Kane has had some disciplinary issues in the past, and he’s been under a lot of scrutiny because of it. He’s been the topic of a lot of trade rumors as well, as Winnipeg may not want to deal with him anymore. Him being a late healthy scratch because of this dress code violation also tells me that this most likely is not the first time this happened.
One big reason that the Winnipeg Jets brought in Paul Maurice to be their head coach was because he’s a very big disciplinarian. So, if this is what Maurice has to do to get through to Kane, so be it. Otherwise, Kane may be on his way out of Winnipeg, or at least be made to shut down the rest of the season and get surgery for his undisclosed injury.
H/T to CBC Sports for the information.
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