Evander Kane is outside Manny Malhotra's Canucks room, but his latest shot at Mark Spector has dragged an old feud back into the open.
The exchange started after Spector responded to Kane's latest social-media commentary by calling his take selfish. Kane didn't let the criticism sit for long.
Kane fired back by calling Spector's opinion idiotic, then made the exchange personal by referring to an alleged confrontation between the two from their Edmonton days.
He claimed he once gave Spector a stern talking-to outside the locker room and mocked the Sportsnet reporter over how he supposedly reacted to that encounter.
That's what changed the tone. This wasn't a player simply disagreeing with a columnist's hockey analysis. Kane was reaching back into their shared history and making sure everyone knew the relationship had baggage.
The original dispute grew out of Kane's comments on vaccines, media coverage and politics (which we won't get into). That subject sparked the exchange, but the more interesting hockey story quickly became Kane versus Spector.
And this rivalry didn't begin Thursday. Their friction goes back to Kane's time with the Oilers, when Spector covered him closely and wasn't afraid to criticize the winger's play or decisions.
" Imagine, Mark Spector with a idiotic take. The drama of it all.
I would say more but you might start crying like you did when I gave you a talking to outside the locker room. Don't tell me you forgot. "
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Evander Kane fires back at NHL reporter with brutal message
One memorable episode surfaced during the 2024 playoffs. After Spector had been critical of Kane, the winger used a postgame media availability to send a pointed response in the reporter's direction.
Kane's latest post suggests whatever tension existed then hasn't disappeared. The reference to an encounter outside the locker room was especially sharp because it moved the disagreement beyond columns and press conferences.
Spector, for his part, has covered Kane through some turbulent stretches of his NHL career. That familiarity makes their exchanges different from a random player clapping back at an unfamiliar media account.
Kane also knows exactly how to turn a response into a larger story. Instead of addressing only Spector's criticism, he brought up an old incident and directly challenged him to remember it.
That has put their Edmonton history back under the spotlight at a time when Kane's own playing future remains a major question following his Vancouver stint.
There's no need to drag the political debate any further to understand this one. The bigger story in hockey circles is that Kane and Spector clearly haven't forgotten what happened between them before.
And after Kane's latest message, this no longer looks like a disagreement that ended when he left Edmonton. The feud is very much alive.
Did Evander Kane go too far with his personal shot at Mark Spector?
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