Patrick Kane found himself
in a familiar spot in June, hoisting the Stanley Cup for the third time in six
years. A little over a month later, he
finds himself in a familiar place again.
This time, in trouble…again.
Kane finds himself in a
police investigation for alleged rape.
To be clear, no charges have been filed, and no one has been put under
arrest. As of now, everything is
accusations…only.
The problem is that the
Blackhawks front office is once again trying to put out the fires caused by
Kane. Regardless, if Kane is guilty or
innocent (and he should be considered innocent until proven guilty), he has
found himself, yet again, in a place and a situation he should never have put
himself into. Yes, it’s possible that
the alleged victim could have tried to get Kane into trouble, or she was truly
a victim. That is for the police to
decide. Either way, high-profile
athletes are told, shown, and taught, to not get themselves into these
situations. The question
is what do the
Blackhawks do, if anything?
Kane has had a checkered past
with taxi cabs, college Cinco De Mayo parties, and taking snapshots in the back
of limos shirtless with women during a hockey season. Yes, he is/was young and enjoying a rock star
career. He’s now 26. Time to grow up and wise up. Over the last two years though, Kane had
matured. Something that the Blackhawks
organization could rest easy on…until now.
Blackhawks owner, Rocky Wirtz, President, John McDonough, and General Manager,
Stan Bowman, have built a “brand” that they pride themselves on. They’ve invested a lot into Patrick Kane over
the years. Bowman brought Kane into his
home during his rookie year as Kane lived with him and his family. When Kane got off from the cab incident, the
Blackhawks too care of things with Kane, “internally”, and behind closed doors. Now, these accusations, proven innocent or
guilty, is NOT something that the Blackhawks brass is going to take lightly. They’ve invested $84.5 million into
Kane. It would be interesting to know
what kind of stipulation fine print may be inside that contract.
Time will only tell, but if
the Blackhawks are sticking with their “brand” of hockey, then what kind of
discipline will come of this incident, regardless if proven innocent or
guilty. One would think anything is
possible at this point. Let’s just hope
that this investigation ends here and goes no further.
LET’S GO HAWKS!!!
Although the Blackhawks are still working on their roster, the IceHogs roster will still contain some exciting stars that fans will want to see. Players like Viktor Svedberg, Mark McNeil, Ville Pokka, and Ryan Hartman are players that could be on the short list to make the NHL squad at some point.
