BUFFALO – Even if Evander Kane is cleared of the harassment complaints recently filed against him, Sabres general manager Tim Murray believes the winger needs to change his behavior.
Kane, 24, has been involved in two off-ice legal incidents since December.
Two women filed a complaint against Kane following an alleged altercation at a Buffalo bar June 24, the same day the Sabres hosted the NHL Draft.
“Certainly we don’t like this is twice now he’s been in incidents like this,” Murray said Friday inside the First Niagara Center. “It’s not good for the organization, it’s not good for him. He’s going to have to pick and choose his spots when he goes out a lot better than he does, and he’s going to have to behave himself a lot better than he has, obviously.”
According to a police report the Associated Press cited, Kane allegedly grabbed one woman by throat. Another woman accused Kane of trying to force her from the bar.
No charges have been filed against Kane. His attorney, Paul Cambria, has said Kane did nothing wrong, according to the AP.
In December, Kane was under investigation for an alleged sex offense at a downtown hotel. He was cleared of wrongdoing in March.
“Whether he has done these things or not or he’s guilty of these things or not, it’s not something I like getting up in the morning and reading about, that’s for sure,” Murray said. “We’re going to let the process happen. We’ll go with whatever the ruling is. Whatever the ruling is, we’re obviously going to have a sit-down (talk).”
The Sabres also benched Kane for a game in February after he documented his partying at the NBA All-Star Game on social media and missed practice the next day.