Evander Kane caught in a blatant lie in front of cameras

The Vancouver Canucks have officially entered teardown mode, and the trades are coming fast. Captain Quinn Hughes was shipped to the Minnesota Wild in a massive deal earlier this season, and pending unrestricted free agent Kiefer Sherwood followed shortly after in a move to the San Jose Sharks. Now, all signs point to pending UFA Evander Kane being next out the door.

Vancouver explored the idea of sending Kane back to Edmonton, though Oilers sources quickly shut that down, insisting that chapter is firmly closed. Since then, Kane has been linked to several contenders, including the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, with the Los Angeles Kings also believed to have checked in on the veteran winger.

But if you listened to Kane himself on Tuesday, you’d think none of that was real.

Ahead of Vancouver’s matchup against the Sharks, Kane dismissed the trade chatter outright during a media scrum, brushing it off as speculation driven by social media.

“There are a lot of names out there, but just because a Vancouver media guy tweets something out, I get a big scrum today.”

That denial doesn’t line up with what’s been widely reported around the league.

According to multiple insiders, Kane’s agent, Dan Milstein, has already been granted permission by the Canucks to help facilitate a trade. That’s how business gets done when a team is preparing to move a veteran ahead of the deadline…

So while Kane publicly downplayed the situation, the reality is that the wheels appear to be in motion behind the scenes.

Kane’s production hasn’t helped his trade value. He has just nine goals and 24 points in 52 games this season, well below what the Canucks hoped for when they acquired him. Still, with the trade deadline approaching, Vancouver appears ready to move on, even if Kane is still in denial.