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Next up, one of the key new faces #9 Evander Kane LW (three seasons left at $5.25 million per, age 24) Winnipeg 37/10/12/22/-1/56 Evander Kane is a great skater — strong and fast. He’s also tough as nails, can shoot bullets, plays in all situations and is as competitive as it gets. His analytics show an excellent puck possession player, who generates an elite number of scoring chances and scores in the upper echelon of the league in goals per 60 minutes, all while playing against tough competition. Despite the numbers, he couldn’t establish himself as a first-line winger for an average Jets team, alienated some fans and teammates with a perceived self-absorbed attitude partly generated by his social media feed and ended up being dumped by the franchise that drafted him fourth overall. Injuries have limited him to 29 goals combined over the past two seasons and he slipped down the Jets depth chart before tracksuitgate ended his Jets career. But he is healed and expectations created by the price paid in this spring’s blockbuster trade are that he should match that total this season alone. Unlike in Winnipeg, Kane will be expected to be this team’s first-line winger from the drop of the puck and asked to be a leader. Will he benefit from the fresh start, or will he prove the naysayers right via personality implosion? Few Sabres will be watched more closely this year. Links to the rest of the series: