These mid and late Mays without Blackhawks hockey are getting old. Anytime the Hawks would like to stop throwing the rest of the league a bone, is fine with me. The Hawks getting knocked out of the playoffs for two straight years in the first round are both a blessing and a curse for fans and bloggers, alike. While it's a nice, and a much needed, break for me, the Hawks have obviously failed in their goal of winning Lord Stanley's big silver chalice. That said, I'd gladly trade my month long sanity break for another Stanley Cup. EVERY YEAR!
Moving on, There have been a few developments that have poked their heads up like prairie dogs, in the last few weeks, so they should probably be addressed.
First of all, The Hawks announced that Mike Haviland was relieved of his coaching duties with the team. At first glance the Hawks fandom, myself included, were up in arms. Everyone thought that since Havvy was one of those links to the 2010 Stanley Cup, he'd be around as long as he felt fit; or until the rest of the staff was let go. Anyhow, Quenneville threw everyone for a loop, and dismissed Havvy.
If you dig a little deeper, this move makes sense for Quenneville. It has long been rumored that Haviland was the chosen one, when either Quenneville decided to move on, or was let go. Pushing Haviland out the door was a good way to relieve some pressure, because it can't be easy doing your job when your successor is looking over your shoulder every day. Secondly, Havvy was the last holdover from the Pre-Quenneville and for that matter, Pre-Stanley Cup era. With him gone, Quenneville can bring in all his own guys. Sink or swim, it will be all his boat. Maybe there was more to this relationship than meets the eye, but we may never know. The bottom line is that Quenneville needs to bring in a person, or people, to help get this ship moving in the right direction.
The reason most people are upset is that Havvy was a nice guy. No one really knows whether his head or assistant coaching abilities were good enough, except his colleagues. In the big picture, the Blackhawks lose a helluva guy, and that is about it. He may end up a great Head Coach somewhere but, and as much as Quenneville pisses us all off, Mike Haviland as the Hawks head coach probably would have taken them back a step or two, and they can't afford that.
Image blatantly borrowed from Deadspin.com, Click to see more
Now we get to the good ol fashion fun stuff. Drunken shenanigans, fights, banging slutty college tramps, GTL-ing, and insulting the general masses. Typical 23 year old behavior, right? According to Deadspin, young Pat Kane chose to spend his cinco de mayo in the popular tropical resort town of Madison Wisconsin because, when I think of time off following a busy NHL season, Madison is at the top of my list. ALLEGEDLY, Kaner and a few pals had some t-shirts printed up with THIS PICTURE on the back and the Spanish version of "Two Fives Equal Ten". Pretty funny, if you ask me, but have a gander for yourself:
Images blatantly borrowed from Deadspin.com, Click to see the story
Looks, folks, Kane is 23 years old. What were YOU doing at 23? Probably doing things much worse than Mr. Kane ALLEGEDLY did. I can't fault him for wanting to let loose and bang some hotties, while in the offseason. Hell, maybe banging some college trixies will give the ol wrist a break. Anyway, I don't have a huge problem with the overall premise, but I DO have some concerns, as I'm sure the Blackhawks suits do.
Patrick Kane is 23 years old, an NHL superstar, and rich. WHY is he drunkenly trolling Madison Wisconsin for Girls Gone Wild rejects? He could throw a legendary bash at his own place, and have higher class ladies with top shelf booze, instead of drinking cheap gutter swill with Midwestern trixies in the middle of deer hunting country. Be smart, kid! I don't claim to know the verbiage of Kaner's contract, but I would guess there is a morals clause somewhere in that document. If say, he was arrested for ALLEGEDLY attempting to choke a college girl at a Kappa Sig party, some might look at that as a "breach of contract" while quoting such clauses to his agent. Just when he was getting over the Buffalo taxicab incident, he shows up in cheesehead land acting like a complete fool. This is a condensed list of ALLEGED misbehavior by young Mister 88:
- Kicked out of a bar for passing out drunk.
- Making out with random girls
- Pulling down girl's sunglasses and telling them, "Eh, not good enough"
- Was forcibly removed from a party for attempting to choke a girl, which resulted in a shouting match
- Showed up to a party run by a guy who's girlfriend Kane has been "associating" with
- Choked a guy out, between fist fights.
- Passed out again in a bar, twice
- Was almost arrested for D&D regarding alleged anti-sematic remarks.
I am NOT a Kane hater. He had a rough year, being moved all over the lineup after some serious wrist surgery. He's 23, young, horny, and rich. I get it. BUT; when you become a professional athlete, the usual twenty-something asshattery can't apply to you and your Bros. You represent a professional organization and league which was there before you, and will be there well after you're gone. Be smart, and know your place. This is a league that traded Wayne Gretzky more than once, just because. I would hate to see Kaner go, but after enough public episodes, the Hawks brass are going to get fed up. He has the luxury of having a long leash, but Rocky Wirtz may decide, someday, that the dog has bitten the hand that feeds him one too many times. When his face appears in the headlines, it is associated with the NHL and the Blackhawks, whether it was during the season or not. Businesses run that way, and they may or may not have employed a woman beating drunk in the 60's, but there was no internet or twitter to confirm such actions. Hell, JFK slept his ass around Hollywood during his term, but that would not fly these days, nor would he get away with it. The internet would have got him; it always does.
I just want to see Kane succeed in Chicago, and do so for the remaining years of his contract. I think he's a special and dynamic player, but he's walking on thin ice. I don't want to wake up some morning and see the headlines, "Troubled Kane Traded". "Kane Scores Second Career Cup Winning Goal for Blackhawks", has a much nicer ring to it. Reel it in, Pat.