What Do We Make of Kane Now?

Buffalo. One a proud city that was once the booming industrial economy of New York's second-largest city. Although that portion is gone, Buffalo's spirits are still riding high on one thing.

Patrick Kane.

That's right. The Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane, who is part of an ongoing sexual assault investigation. However, Buffalo is supporting him all the way.

Said local Buffalo sports fan Frank Thomas Croisdale: "I don't think we're embracing that negativity as much as we would have a few years ago." If you recall, back in August 2009, Kane and his cousin were charged with punching a Buffalo cab driver in an argument over 20 cents in change. He avoided jail time by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and apologized to the cab driver.

Local media outlets, including the Chicago Sun-Times, are suggesting that the Blackhawks cut Kane to avoid any more of this publicity on them and it would seem like the smart thing to do. The 49ers cut Aldon Smith after he was arrested for yet another DUI and you would think that with this going on, the Blackhawks should do the exact same thing with Kane too. Not so fast, partner. It's only an investigation. He hasn't been charged with anything.

I would say it's too early to make anything out of this. There's no charges filed and until that happens, it's just an investigation. We let the investigation play now. But in terms of Kane's image, it doesn't do too well for him. He's already been taken off the cover of the new NHL 16 and it remains to be seen what will happen to his endorsements. Again, probably nothing will happen right now. Buffalo is behind him and it would seem like the Blackhawks organization would be behind him as well. I would only take drastic measures about Kane if it turns he is charged with something, but again, there's nothing about that so we just look at it like another player on the team.

The Blackhawks are gonna need Kane in help to defend their Stanley Cup title. If he's not available for any length of time, that could spell disaster for Blackhawks and it would probably put more pressure on Jonathan Toews to keep this team afloat. They already lost Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp to the Blue Jackets and Stars, respectively, so they can't afford to lose anybody else. Certainly not Patrick Kane, for that matter.

Let's see what the investigation brings up. But until then, he's still an elite player who can produce and help the Blackhawks win. We treat him as a hockey player, as an innocent man until proven guilty. If Buffalo thinks he's innocent and the Blackhawks think he is too, then we should probably do the same. We make of him that he's a hockey player playing for the Blackhawks.