Trading Kane: Will 'Volcanically Outraged' Blackhawks Management Send Patrick Kane Away?

Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, three-time Stanley Cup winner and NHL all-star, hasn’t been charged with sexual assault let alone convicted. He remains under investigation in Erie County, New York, however, and it’s likely the case being made against him will be presented to a grand jury sometime this year.

Would you trade him now with training camp just a few weeks away and the case unresolved?

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mark Lazerus reports that several teams want Kane despite allegations he raped a woman in his home on Aug. 2 after a night of drinking.

At least five teams contacted the Hawks once the Buffalo News first reported the investigation — which involves Kane and a woman at his Hamburg home — and said they’d be willing trade partners should the Hawks decide to cut ties with their superstar winger, according to a league source. The 26-year-old is entering the first year of a record-setting eight-year, $84-million contract.

When the ink wasn’t yet dry on that record-setting contract, Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz suggested Kane’s statue would probably stand outside the United Center. His name would be mentioned with the same reverence reserved for Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.

That seems unlikely now, as Rick Telander of the Sun-Times reports:

Blackhawk sources have said team president John McDonough was volcanically outraged when news of Kane’s recent troubles in Buffalo surfaced. One of the Blackhawks main security men immediately flew on a private jet to Buffalo to dampen the flames. But you can’t put out what has jumped the fire pit.

Sports Illustrated suggests the interest makes business sense.

It doesn’t mean that there’s a deal to be made, but to do anything less than inquire about the availability of a game-breaking player who hasn’t yet been charged and who might not be guilty of anything is a dereliction of duty.

But the bottom line for the Blackhawks, writes Barry Rozner for the Daily Herald, is this:

Kane had been warned about his behavior, and the Hawks were not pleased that he announced at the Stanley Cup rally that he intended to act the fool again while celebrating the team’s third championship in six seasons.

... no one player is bigger than the team, and the Hawks and their litany of sponsors do not want to be known as a group that values winning above decency.

Kane’s days in Chicago may be numbered no matter what happens.

Related

• Patrick Kane’s Lawyer vs. the Erie County District Attorney
• What Patrick Kane’s Chauffeur, an Off-Duty Cop, Says He Saw That Night
• Patrick Kane Dropped from NHL 16 Video Game Cover
• The Buffalo News Taken to Task for ‘Victim-Blaming’ Quotes
• Patrick Kane’s Accuser Had ‘Bite Marks’ on Her Shoulders: Report
• Situation ‘Ominous’ and ‘Heinous,’ says Reporter Who Broke Story
• Patrick Kane’s Saturday with the Stanley Cup
• Rocky Wirtz and Blackhawks Feel ‘Anger, Disappointment, Sadness’
• Rape Accusation Leads Cops to Investigate Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane
• Patrick Kane’s Weekend According to Social Media