Evander Kane publicly calls out Jay Woodcroft during the game.
Evander Kane was not happy with his head coach on Saturday night and let the public know.
Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane has been relatively well behaved during his tenure with the Oilers thus far and many of the problems that have had a tendency to creep up around Kane haven't showed up thus far. On Saturday night however Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft demoted Kane to the team's third line and that side of Kane's character popped up once again, at least for a brief moment.
Kane was involved in a scrap with former San Jose Sharks teammate and current Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon and was asked about that scrap during an intermission interview. Kane answered the question from Hockey Night in Canada's Scott Oake, but he also used the opportunity to take a public shot at his head coach, complaining about his ice time during the game.
"Didn't play much in the first period so I thought, might as well get into a fight and take 7 or 8 minutes in the box," said a visibly frustrated Evander Kane.
It's hard to argue with Woodcroft's decision to demote Kane, likely in an effort to motivate the Oilers forward, as through the first 5 games of the season he has registered no goals and just a single point, and currently boasts a plus minus rating of -6 on the season.
I don't believe that these comments are going to be winning his head coach over to his side either, although perhaps Kane showing some fire in response to the demotion is exactly what Woodcroft wanted to see out of his player.