In one of the more bizarre stories of this sports summer, one of the rising stars of the NHL, Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, was arrested in Buffalo this past weekend. No, he wasn't arrested for shooting himself in the foot, or running a secret dogfighting ring, or even for taking illegal drugs. Instead, Kane was arrested for assaulting a cab driver over 20 cents. Let that sink in for a moment...an NHL Rookie of the Year was arrested over two dimes, less money than that quarter you found in your sofa the other day. Better save that loose change, you never know when you might run into #88!
Of course, all of the facts aren't out yet. Even today, the attorney for the assaulted cab driver is claiming matters are being blown out of proportion. However, it has to be troubling for the Blackhawks to see one of the young cornerstones on their team get into trouble over 4 nickels, nevermind the potential role of alcohol in the matter for the 20 year old Kane. It also doesn't help the small of stature Kane that many fans are snickering that his taxi brawl was the most physical action of his career, but I digress.
Patrick Kane was without question one of the breakout players of the playoffs, with his memorable hat trick in Game 6 of the conference semifinals against Vancouver pushing the Hawks far into the playoffs for the first time in years. Although he struggled against the mighty Red Wings, the suddenly resurgent Blackhawks were counting on Kane, fellow young guns Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg, as well as the signing of Marian Hossa to finally become Stanley Cup contenders in the upcoming season. Heck
EA Sports even plastered Kane on the cover of their new NHL '10 video game (of course this only gives more proof to the conspiracy theory over the EA Sports curse, dun dun dun!!).While the events of the weekend don't call the future of the team into doubt yet, the fiasco is another in a long line of mysterious happenings for the Chicago Blackhawks in the offseason. For years a sleeping giant, new players and new leadership in the front office had the Blackhawks surge towards the NHL elite last year. But, a puzzling offseason including mishandled contracts, a 12 year contract to an injured player, the demotion of a popular GM, and now Kane's TaxiGate has a rejuvenated fan base, and undoubtedly Gary Bettman nervous. How Kane and the rest of the team responds could give the NHL another traditional power to further boost the building momentum of the NHL. I guess if there's one lesson we can all take away it's this, "It's all about the Roosevelts bay-bay!!!"
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