Patrick Kane Needs To Step Away From The Chicago Blackhawks Until His Case Is Done

The rape allegations against Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane will become the story of the season. His presence will be what everyone talks about everyday for as long as this is still an issue. Every player from Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford to Teuvo Teravainen will have to give their opinion on the situation, or they will be asked a thousand times what they think. The only way to make this easier for the organization is for Kane to go away.

The case got weird on Wednesday when the rape kit applied to the girl in question was sent to her mother. With that kind of evidence, something so important to the case literally falling out of the hands of police is inexcusable. That caveat to the story should show this is only going to get crazier as time goes by.

Someone needs have Kane removed, whether it is the Blackhawks, the NHL or Kane himself. There has to be someone that realizes this will ruin the beginning of the season. Slava Voynov forced the hockey conversation to go negatively last year — someone would think people learned the hard way from that.

Kane is in a bad situation. Yes, one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but his presence is toxic nonetheless. The conversation right now surrounding the defending Stanley Cup champs should involve the loss of Brandon Saad and who can step up in his absence, but it isn’t. It isn’t whether Duncan Keith is the best defender in the NHL. It has nothing to do with how Joel Quenneville will repeat his performance. There are on-ice question marks that nobody will ask, because the conversation is off the ice. The conversation is 100 percent Kane and these terrible allegations.

The Blackhawks should learn from the 2014-15 Los Angeles Kings. They were the defending champions. They were the favorites to win it all. The fact that they kept falling into controversies and everyday was a distraction. They missed the playoffs because of it.

What good does having Kane at training camp do? He is an elite athlete. He can work out on his own. The Blackhawks can survive without Kane for a short period of time. If he is indeed innocent, then this will go away. If he is guilty, then you don’t want him on your team anyway. This situation only gets worse with Kane in the limelight. Take him out of it. It will only help the team, the player and the investigation.