An Expensive 20 Cents

For those who have not heard, Patrick Kane was arrested yesterday after robbing and assaulting the driver of a taxi he and his cousin were riding in.......allegedly. According to the story, Kane and his cousin were expecting some change after paying a cab fare, change the driver apparently did not have. How much change? 20 cents. Now there have been claims that the cab driver is fabricating the story. There is even a claim out there that the cab driver locked the doors anticipating that Kane would skip out on the tab. Let's assume the cab driver did do that, in no way shape or form does that justify Kane throwing haymakers. That being said, I will let the justice system takes its course. The point of this is that those 20 cents may be an expensive 20 cents for Kane.

Consider the following:

--How will this affect Kane's standing with the already mediocre team USA hockey team? USA hockey's pre-Olympic camp starts this month. Kane's court date is scheduled during camp. Does a conviction of any kind keep Kane off the team?

--Kane is the cover boy and was paid big time bucks (terms not disclosed) by EA to appear on this year's NHL video game. Interestingly enough, John Tavares, having not yet played an NHL game, was also signed on but was not placed on the cover. Does Tavares replace Kane? We have seen players set to be on the cover replaced in the past. Back in 2004, Joe Thornton was signed on to be on the cover, but a slight brush with the law prevented that. Thornton was charged with assault. Ironically enough, Thornton's replacement was supposed to be Dany Heatley, but he too was booted from the cover due to the drunk driving tragedy that claimed the life of teammate Dan Snyder.

--Kane is turning into a marketing dynamo for the NHL. Kane has been the cornerstone of the rebuilding process in Chicago. After a 13 year playoff drought, Kane has turned the Blackhawks into perennial contenders. This team is going to be around for awhile and the NHL is jumping all over this opportunity. The NHL will waste no opportunity to market an origional 6 team. How will this affect his marketability?

The long term implications of this will be the same as the majority of other athletes who have encountered brushes with the law. There won't be any long term implications. Short term implications could be far more grave. A spot on the Olympic team, missing out on a personal dream of being on the cover of a video game, and potential big time money, all for 20 cents? That's an expensive 20 cents.