Sharks players hit back at broadcaster Don Cherry's criticism of Evander Kane

SAN JOSE - Evander Kane and his Sharks teammates provided a full-throated response to criticism from iconic Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry on “Hockey Night in Canada” last weekend.

During his weekly “Coach’s Corner” segment, Cherry criticized Kane for skating into the Calgary Flames end of the rink during warmups, characterizing the act as the type of behavior that alienates teammates. The Sharks acquired Kane at a bargain-basement price on ?Feb. 26, in part, because of the embattled forward’s reputation for causing friction with his teammates in Winnipeg and Buffalo.

“What he did was, in the warmups, he went down in the other team’s end. Why he does goofy things like that. That’s why he ticks off his own team,” Cherry said. “There is no reason to be down in the other team’s end. We’re not even going to show it.”

According to the Sharks, Cherry got his facts wrong.

Kane insists that he was skating in the Flames’ end after the Sharks returned to the ice for the second period, not during warmups as was suggested by Cherry. It’s common for players to skate in their opponent’s zone prior to the second period because teams switch ends and it’s closer to their bench.

“It was not during pregame warmups as the video would suggest. It was coming out for the second period,” Kane said. “I was just doing some practice shots without a puck toward the net, like I actually do every single game coming out for the second.”

The suggestion that Kane violated an unwritten hockey code by warming up in the Flames’ end got Sharks defenseman Brent Burns particularly fired up.

“Every team does that,” Burns said. “I say hi to the other teams’ guys all the time. It’s not uncommon. Watch when guys come out for the second period, they’re always going into the other team’s zone.”

Sharks alternate captain Logan Couture took issue with the insinuation that Kane had rubbed his new teammates the wrong way with his actions in Calgary. After that game, Burns, Joe Pavelski and Joel Ward were chumming it up with Kane, hugging, laughing and celebrating his four-goal night.

“Every single team does that - that’s crazy. It isn’t a problem for us,” Couture said. “If he shows up and plays the way he does, we don’t care. It’s nothing. It’s really not a story.”

Another Sharks player, Barclay Goodrow, called Cherry’s criticism of Kane “outrageous.”

At this point, one thing is clear: the Sharks are grateful that general manager Doug Wilson swung a deal at the trade deadline to bring Kane into the room. The Sharks’ season appeared to be trending downward after a four-game trip through the Central Division resulted in a 1-2-1 record. Especially troubling was a 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota in which the Sharks were outshot 31-11 over the last two periods and overtime.

With Joe Thornton still out with a right knee injury, the Sharks seemed to lack the firepower to reach the finish line for a playoff spot. Kane’s acquisition injected life into a dressing room that had the atmosphere of a funeral home after the loss in Minnesota.

But after going 3-0 through Western Canada, the Sharks are now 7-2 with Kane. Kane is proving to be the offensive catalyst the Sharks needed, producing 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in nine games.