What if Kane charges are true?

Check out Mike Kiley's blog on Tribune's sports page:

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/blackhawks-confidential/2009/08/kane-fou...

It hits the nail on the head.

I know many are defending Kane and saying how he is "just a kid," and "kids do dumb things." True, but dumb kids do dumb things. Toews is nearly the same age as Kane, and you don't see him in the news for punching cab drivers. You don't hear complaints about his work ethic or passion either.

You hear these complaints about Kane, and you hear them for a reason. He is arrogant, and lazy. Sure, you see him playing hockey with the kids in the commercials. It is marketing. His whole image is fabricated, and now he is fading that image with who he really is. He has done so with his lazy play on the ice (as well as dumb comments after games, such as his excuse for high sticking people), and now his shenanigans off the ice.

He has talent. He has NO character. Everyone is defending him because he is young, but look up and down the roster, and you see plenty of character guys in the same age bracket.

Also, as far as the cab driver goes--his own lawyer is saying it has been blown out of proportion. no lawyer without an agenda would ever say that. he is being paid to shut his mouth, and plenty is going on under the table. anyone can make allegations, sure, but the guy's butt was kicked and we still haven't heard from the arrested party. something is up, and it is probably because it is being covered up. remember, McD has an image to maintain for the organization.

I hope they trade this arrogant, spoiled kid for someone that cares about his teammates and fellow man.

Let's see his finances. It's easy to go after a big name with the thought you'd score a couple hundred grand.

Again, these are ALLEGATIONS, not proven fact and certainly not proven in any court of law.

I absolutely refuse to comment on someone's situation, especially when they have no priors.

I remember last year when Kane was asked if he would rather win a game or score a goal to end his drought. He said scoring the goal was more important to him. Right there it was obvious that he played less then stellar team hockey and cared more his personal records.Trade him now to Buffalo or New York.

A year ago, I proposed trading Kane for Shea Weber and a pick or trade him for Getzlaf and no one agreed with me. It was around that time that I wrote that you can't have a guy celebrating his own goals that much more than his linemate's. It spoke of selfishness and whether the cabdriver instigates or not, Kane's life is full of privilege and his selfishness outweighed his responsibilty to his team, his league and the kids that admire him. There is virtually nothing that a 62 year old cab driver could have done or said to incite that reaction, embellished or not.

Professional sports leagues and franchises require players to attend training in things like media relations, public conduct, image consulting, etc... Agents, at least the good ones, will manage their clients so as not to violate any of the conduct clauses in their contracts.

Professional athletes, more now than ever before, are made aware of what can happen if they put themselves in bad situations. Some one can accuse you of rape or allege that you harmed them somehow to get a big financial settlement.

Kane has certainly been schooled in how not to put himself in a situation where he can hurt his own image as well as that of the Hawks and NHL.

Kane is not a very bright person on or off the ice.

Take this opportunity to trade him. It gives McDoYa the perfect chance to deal him and get a lot in return while heading off a cap problem for next year.

God, I hate saying this but if he is guilty, you trade him. It solves a problem in trying to sign all three (Toews, Keith and Kane) next year. Its also a scenario where the fans won't be yelling at Hawks management for trading away a key player.

I feel bad for all those young impressionable kids that look up to Patrick Kane.

Little Billy "We can punch cabbies? Cool!"

But in this case Its not like Kane just got drafted three weeks ago. He's been in the NHL for two years, so I would imagine that he's had more than his share of cab rides by now. I still think there's more to the story. Maybe you and I can agree that this might have been Carrotop's fault.

While nothing has been proven yet, I will say that this is just another glimpse of the character of Patrick Kane. There's no doubt that the kid has a TON of talent and a TON of upside as he continues to learn the game. However, the character he has shown borders on the side of selfish. Many times during the season he could be seen not helping his linemates out defensively. Many time during the season he could be seen almost upset about the fact that one of his linemates scored and he didn't. Yet when he scores he's as jubilant as anyone.

The bottom line is he should be smart enough to know that I'm out on the town (whether he's underage drinking or not - still yet to be proven) at 5am and the last thing I need to be doing is squabbling over any amount of small change with a local cabbie. I have a reputation to uphold for myself, my family, my teammates, and my organization and I cannot let them down.

All of these things boil down to character. I'm sure some of the guys on the team are probably wondering WTF he was doing stirring up all this trouble.

Maybe Theo Fleury was with him and didn't get caught? :)

I posted some opinions on the other stories. But I must admit, the more I think about it, I'm finding it harder to believe that they assaulted this driver just because he didn't have 20 cents change. There must be A LOT more to this story.

“The best thing about it is my friends treat me like I’m a regular kid,” said Kane, the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft. “They don’t treat me like a celebrity or whatever they might treat me like in Chicago.”

The quote above stunned me.

First off, Kane you are not a kid. You became a man when you signed that NHL contract and the responsibility that goes along with that. You are definitely a man, a young man, but a man none the less.

It's time to step up and get in front of the cameras and do the right thing and explain yourself, otherwise you won't have to worry about being a celebrity in Chicago. The fans will run you of town in nothing flat.

Half that arena is wearing your name and number. And yes, young people do stupid things, but if you did beat up an old man...you better try to correct it quick!

As disappointing as this is, I'm not surprised. It might behoove him to drop his gloves on the ice instead. A formidable opponent would serve him better!

Heard WGN interview the cabbie's legal representative. Says he's known him for a long time, represented him before several times as well. The only thing he would say is he cannot comment on the specific incident, but he did appear dubious that what is alleged to happen (a sort of strongarm robbery) and would be surprised if those specific charges were brought to the arraignment. He chuckled when the interviewers (Dave Eanet and Greg Jarrett) said the cabbie has a reputation as a grump and curmudgeon but would not comment on it specifically, as they tried to intimate that perhaps he may have offered a little provocation. He did admit that his client locks people in his cab until they pay the fare, and if the Kanes were smashed you can imagine that would escalate. He added that althoug his client is an "inner city driver" who makes a practice of confining passengers until a fare is paid, and that most other drivers in his position do as well, he called it a bad idea.

Even if a felony is not presented, this truly is a stupid kid incident. The underage drinking charge that may be in the offing is bad enough. Socking an old man over a cab fare (and the guy did look like to took a few to the face) makes it worse. Hey, eventually Kane will have to face his audience, let's see how forgiving they are after the other Hawk incidents this off season.

I'll add this too, it appeared to me when McDonough took over as Cubs president that he fully intended to rid the clubhouse of politicians, superstar clods and anyone else whose intention was NOT to make the Cubs a winning team. The hire of Lou Piniella put a stamp on that, although things may have changed since McD left. It truly will be interesting to see if he chooses to consider this a young man's mistake, or a harbinger of things to come, and decides they are better off without Patrick Kane. His 09-10 performance will have a lot to do with the Bowman/McD/Wirtz decision as well.

Mr. Kane will not take his son out to the woodshed. He wouldn't want to risk losing his allowance.

At 20 years of age, is he too old for his father Mr. Kane Sr. to give him a "big whoopin???"

His puerile, boys-will-be-boys behavior is deserving of a good "beatin at the back of the shed."

We play in Buffalo in December, so at least Kane can go to trial when in town.

But he better get used to being pelted by dimes wherever he goes from now on.

As for the door-locking thing, I've been in lots of cabs and they're not police cars. If you want to get out, you just lift the lock knob and pull the handle.

Let's assume that this was all the cabbie's fault and/or that Kanes were not at fault. The fact remains that Kane is mentally about as sharp as a marble.

Have you ever listened to him speak? Yeah sure, he's 20 year's but I have heard plenty of 20 year athletes that can speak better. He makes lots of stupid decisions on the ice and perhaps off. It was a stupid decision to put himself in that situation in the first place. What he had gotten himself shot?

Like I said you can't make a slow thinker smart.

This is an opportunity to make a deal that could pay off BIG TIME for the Hawks. Seize the opportunity McDoYa!

Let's wait until all the facts come out. As I understand it, the Cabbie locked his doors so that the passengers could not get OUT of his cab!!! If you were in that situation, regardless of the the reason, wouldn't you start puching to try and get out!! How many stories, fiction and non-fiction, have you heard regarding cabbies who locked thier doors and did not allow thier passengers a chance to get out.
It is most likely that this was what Kane and his cousin were punching the cabbie for. Sure they were cheapskates with the tip, but false imprisonment is not the only relief available to the cabbie.
Let's wait for Kane's side of the story.

these are allegations at present. Even the Buffalo Police in their statement say so. There has been no conviction yet.

At this point in time all we know are the statements made and while this on the surface is bad publicity for the Blackhawks, its just that bad publicity.

We MUST find out the facts before passing judgement.

1st let me say there is a whole other side to this story that we have not heard. No one gets into a beef without a cause. I'd like to know what happened between Kanes and the cabbie that precipitated this. With that said, I have met plenty of bad cabbies that I would have loved to punch and stiff on the fare - but I didn't.

And that's my point. Stupidity.

Kane reminds me a lot of another young Blackhawk with blonde curly hair and immense talent - Kenny Yaremchuk. Both have S8@# for Brains. On and off the ice.

You can't make a slow skater fast and you can't make a slow thinker smart. Resign him now for a fraction of what he's worth or trade him.

It will interesting what the image-conscious McDoYa does with the SFB.

is the new Theo Flury. If the charges stick (wanna bet he has a very good lawyer) he has gotta go - there is not another way. Like it or not - Kane is someone who young kids look up to (no pun intended). He, and others in professional sports are role models, whether or not they want to be.
Besides, this could be the excuse that Junior was looking for - he was not going to keep the core together anyway, so why not dump him and improve in defense?

But everything else is!!!! This is tame compared to most athlete indiscretions however its just one negative after another in an off season that could be the hawks worst in sometime.

the golden rule.....everyone exaggerates.....i dont think we have heard the complete truth!

yet.

We've only heard one side of the story at this point. Hopefully Kane can give a different version of events. If he's anything like A Rod then he'll throw his cousin under the bus to take the blame! Regardless of what Kane says in his defence there is definitely a lack of maturity and poor judgement displayed to get into an altercation over a couple of bucks. Kane should be cognizant that in his position he needs to be more careful of the people he associates with relative or not!

The bad karma train is moving full speed ahead with more horrendous PR to come too if Sassone and his beat writer cronies are paying attention . . . The Hawks have again raised some ticket prices 65% or more for the upcoming season, meaning that some seats have gone up 150% in just two seasons. The much ballyhooed McDonough statement about not raising ticket prices applied only to season ticket holders, not people buying seats to individual games.

The percentage increase for many tickets for both non-premium and premium games is outrageous. McCub, Blunk and Chief Ticketmaster Wahoo Chris Werner are the unindicted co-conspirators in this move Johnny Mac never even had the cajones to pull off at Clark and Addison. Season ticket holders simply get a year's reprieve before taking some hurtful swaps to the backside in 2010-11.

Jr Bowman should low-ball him to see how much he wants to stay here. If he plays hardball in his negotiations, trade his negative +/-, no-backchecking, looking-for-the-ref when he gets bumped a$$. Just in case things don't work out in the NHL for him, I have a spot in the Elite League at Johnny's Ice House. We'll have a case on ice for him on the bench.

Kane just may have punched his ticket out of town. It was looking like the Hawks may only be able to sign two of the big three anyway and Kane may have been odd man out before this incident. Why would they sign him now over Keith and Toews who are quality players with some grit who aren't afraid of going in the corners and getting their noses dirty. Oh wait a minute Kane may be developing some grit. That is if he goes against a sixty- two year old cab driver. Where was all that grit and toughness when Dan Cleary nailed him or when a game gets physical? The one thing I don't get is how is this McDonough fault. I'll blame him for almost every off season problem that has come up but I don't think it's his fault that Kane decides to punch a cab driver over twenty cents! If he turns out to have a character problem Dale is the one who drafted him not Johnny McD.

Sure he was injured for half of last season, and he's a terrific passer. But, with all that he has going in his favor - the possibility of a big payday with the Hawks, the chance to earn the Cup with the Hawks in 2010, and to surpass his numbers for last season, you'd think the kid would have better sense. If you were him, and with all those positives, wouldn't you want more and work to assure things get only better? Wouldn't you be bulking up BIG TIME in the offseason since you get pushed around like a rag doll when teams decide. Wouldn't you be concentrating on your defensive skills in the offseason? And does Kane realize that sometimes he appears during games (especially when compared to Toews) that he smokes pot? He looks so lacksidaysical and carefree at times it makes you want to pour a can of "Monster" down his throat! I'm thinking, he was "high" and not on booze at that time of night in Buffalo. How else do you explain acting like a total (millionare) ass over 20 cents? If he's such a nice guy as the Hawks want us to believe (recall the restaged ad when he and Toews skate into the kids hockey practice to offer a few pointers) should we even believe Kane would have tipped the driver even if he had been given back exact change? I think not!

Has John McDonough brought the Cub curse with him? Or has Karma just hit this team in the behind? Since the firing of Dale Tallon, for reasons everyone in the NHL think are insane, this team has had nothing but trouble. John McDonough should have left hockey operations alone, and concentrated on branding and image. Instead, he starts to meddle in on ice issues, which lead us to the Campbell splash, the Huet splash, and the Hossa splash. Oh yes.. Hossa...don't be surprised if he's not back until Jan 14. He creates a horrible work environment for the front office, and has the QOs held back in order to get rid of the GM. (yes John, some people actually know the truth) Do the players have so little respect for Stan Bowman and his backstabbing ways that they are forgetting that even in the off season that they represent the Indian Head? That is one thing that the former GM, Dale Tallon didn't have to worry about. While under his guidance, they appeared to respect themselves and the team they played for. With the current President and the office team he has assembled, it's no wonder that not only the fans, but the players themselves have lost respect for the Indian head...and THAT Mr. McDonough, is your own making. It's about time someone said shame on you, and the shame you have brought to this organization.

That's probably what the Hawk Tower is asking after the many debacles of the last month or so. Felony charges for something this ridiculous has to be in the team photo for professional athlete stupidity of the year......a picture that needs an extremely large frame unfortunately.

Star players in every sport simply cannot put themselves in this sort of position. At minimum this is going to cost Kane a lot of time and money and will be yet another distraction for him heading into the season. With every other question asked him this year being about his contract situation he really didn't need another subject that is guaranteed to create never ending questions. Things are at the he said/he said stage but either way it's a lock he'll be fined by the Hawks or the league (he should consider himself lucky that Goodell isn't the NHL commissioner) or maybe both. As Tim says, this also could throw some wrinkles into what the Hawks offer him in his next contract.

But if he scores 45 goals and goes +15 for the year all of this will be forgotten.

Then the Hawks have no choice but to fire John McD. This, just like everything else this off season, is clearly his fault. If Dale were still GM this would have never happened. I cannot believe that Rocky is going to sit back and watch McD continue to run this team into the ground. When will it end?

AS far as class goes, the kid is far froma Jonathan Toews, despite this incident he is still a verty tradeable commodity, Hossa and Sharp and Versteeg do what he does without the headaches, get that Dman Tampa just drafted for him and we're much better off

Kaner gets 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct, maybe an instigator too unless the cabby gets that. Maybe the cousin gets a third man in, unless Kaner gets that
one. All kidding aside, I can see J-Mac and Rocky sitting around with Blunk and the PR guy Faber enjoying some good Wirtz beverages on this hot day trying to figure out how to spin all of this. If Kane ends up in serious trouble maybe the cap is less of an issue next off season. The Hawks have a young team and maybe the rest of the squad learns from this one, how fast people can and will turn on you, if you do something stupid. The PR machine the Hawks have put out this summer is awful on every front. If the season starts without Kane (legal-susp.???) and no Hossa so much for another 108 point season. It could be a year of catch up for a low seed. I would think Rocky could play the role of Obama and have both over for a beer, Kane's of course would be O'douls. Meanwhile I hear Theo Fluery wants to make an NHL comeback, he could be Kaner's role model on the next road trip to Columbus. I wonder if Pure Platinum is still open. In the meantime this case still is, hopefully it ends in a positive manner.

Yikes, I like Kane he is a gamer and a teriffic passer.... Thought he was hurt most of last season and got a bad rap... The news on our Hawks just keep getting better... ouch! Wonder if Havlat had a crystal ball for this too? All this noise and we still need a goalie