Evander Kane belittles Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe's arguments in heated Ovi-LeBron debate with PK Subban

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane on Monday reacted to a viral TV segment comparing Alex Ovechkin and LeBron James. Kane responded to an X clip of the ESPN show "First Take" as P.K. Subban debated with hosts Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe.

In the comments section, Kane wrote:

"Hard to have a debate @PKSubban1 when neither of these two have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to hockey."

The debate happened after Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894, which he set in 1999. It stood for nearly 25 years until Sunday evening when Ovechkin broke it in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.

P.K. Subban joined the show and praised Ovechkin for his durability and physical play.

"Alex Ovechkin has been more durable than LeBron James over his career, go look at the numbers." Subban said. "We’re playing football on ice, guys, 82 games... Alex Ovechkin, 82 games, is getting hit, dishing out hits; LeBron’s not taking those hits, he’s not taking the same abuse."

Subban was clear in his statement that Ovechkin takes more physical punishment during games than LeBron James. And considering the brutal body checks and fights in hockey, he was not wrong. Ovechkin has fought four times in his career against Andrei Svechnikov, Brandon Dubinsky, Mike Richards and Paul Gaustad.

Subban also said Ovechkin is the most feared goal scorer in hockey history:

"(Ovechkin is) the most feared goal scorer, and maybe most feared hockey player, of all time."

Subban explained that hockey is more physical than basketball. Sharpe and Smith disagreed and focused more on LeBron’s achievements.

Evander Kane is currently on the long-term injured reserve

According to an NHL report in early March, Evander Kane will miss the entire regular season. The Edmonton Oilers said he is not ready to return and will stay on long-term injured reserve.

A statement from the Oilers camp reads:

“After further consultation with team medical staff, it has been determined that forward Evander Kane will not be ready to return to action for the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season. As a result, he will remain on LTIR (long-term injured reserve)."

Evander Kane had surgery in September to fix two torn hip muscles, two hernias and two torn abdominal muscles. He also had knee surgery in January and has been recovering in Edmonton. Kane started skating after the 4 Nations Face-Off break and is in the third year of a four-year contract worth $5.13 million per season.