Report: Hawks ready to move on from Patrick Kane

According to Barry Rozner of Chicago's Daily Herald, the Blackhawks are preparing for life without their star forward Patrick Kane. The latter is currently under investigation for a sexual assault case that allegedly occurred in his home near Buffalo. Less than three weeks away from training camp, the Hawks are in a very difficult position.

Per Rozner, the Hawks may have to take a decision that won't please their fans, whatever the outcome of the investigation is.

"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."

"The brand, the titles and the sweater go hand in hand as far as the Hawks are concerned, but 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."

"They do not want to be the Baltimore Ravens after the Ray Rice debacle, so the Hawks find themselves painted into a corner and Kane is holding the brush", Rozner wrote on saturday morning.

Many fans would be angry if Chicago make such a move, claiming Kane can't be held responsible of anything until proven guilty, and they do have a point. But in the "post Ray Rice" world, public image of the team has become more important than ever and domestic assault cases have to be treated very seriously and rightly so.

The fact that Kane has a troubled past with the law isn't helping either. According to Rozner, the Hawks have been extremely busy about what they plan to do with their superstar since day one of this story. Every single option is currently being studied, from doing nothing to trade him or "every possibilities in between".

Let's just say this is not what the Hawks were hoping for when Kane said he would go wild again after their Cup victory.

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Image courtesy of Keystone Press Agency