McDonough, the Blackhawks’ president, opened the press conference by saying: “The Chicago Blackhawks organization prides itself in trying to make calculated and deliberate decisions based on information we have at the present time”. “We recognize that Patrick Kane is dealing with a very serious situation”, McDonough said.
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Kane was asked if he ever considered staying home, and not being a distraction at camp.
Appearing calm and poised, the 26-year-old Kane acknowledged that it has been an “incredibly hard time for many people” since the allegation surfaced in early August.
When it was Kane’s turn to speak, he apologized to the team, to his teammates and to the fans for being a distraction.
McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville also chose not to answer questions regarding Kane. When asked if he embarrassed the organization he said, “I’d like to answer that, but with the legal process ongoing, it’s just not a question I can answer”.
Kane is accused of assaulting a woman last month at his home near his hometown of Buffalo, New York. This wasn’t a banner the Chicago Blackhawks would consider relevant during training camp when they hoisted the Stanley Cup back in June. He said if it was him who was working the case, either as the prosecutor or the defense, (he) would say that guy’s a witness now because he’s been told – he even came out and said he’s been told what’s going on. “I do not know who else they have been in contact with”. Kane steered questions away from it, too.
“This hasn’t been an easy situation for any of us to deal with”, he added.
McDonough said the Blackhawks would re-evaluate Kane’s status with the organization if he was indicted of any charges. The legal process will decide the future of Kane.
“We’re really bad celebrators”, McDonough said with a smirk. “I think of course to a certain degree nobody wanted this, but again we don’t want to get into those details right now”, Toews said.
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Kane, 26, is one of the important faces of a Blackhawks team that has won three Stanley Cup championships over the past six seasons. “Furthermore, we have the utmost respect for the legal process and will have no further comment on this issue at this time”. Which of course they haven’t respected by having Kane at camp.
