Yesterday brought news, but some of it was news that no one wanted to hear. When certain players are in the limelight they can be put in unsavory situations. One NHL superstar has been in the news for the wrong reasons this week.
Also, the Traverse City Tournament is set for next month, and the Carolina Hurricanes will look to compete for a trophy that has much more meaning than your average trophy, and more signings went down across the league over the past 24 hours.
Let’s take a look at today’s news.
Yesterday on Cardiac Cane
The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t been very busy this summer, but there have been some notable deals that have made the team both better, and potentially worse.
Yesterday, we talked about all the moves made this offseason, and what we could expect in the coming weeks and months. You can see that HERE.
Patrick Kane
This is the most delicate situation of the offseason, and it would be irresponsible to assume anything or talk about anything other than the actual facts.
Early yesterday, news broke from The Buffalo News that Chicago Blackhawks star winger and New York native Patrick Kane is a target of a rape investigation by Hamburg police in south Buffalo. Kane owns a house in Hamburg.
According to the report, the woman has accused Kane of sexual assault.
The Chicago Blackhawks released the following statement after the news broke:
"“We are aware of the matter and are in the process of gathering information. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”"
Patrick Kane signed an eight-year, $84 million contract extension last summer with the Hawks, a deal that will go into affect this upcoming season.
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Obviously, this is far from a closed case and no one really has any idea if these allegations are legitimate or not. We have seen instances in the past where star athletes get singled out and falsely accused in situations like this. That is not to say that that’s the case here, however.
Investigations are ongoing, and Kane has not been arrested or charged with anything as of yet.
On ice implications are apparent here. The Blackhawks would lose one of the biggest stars in the game, and their massive investment would be put at big risk, but the off ice implications are for more important.
A woman allegedly was raped, and Kane is a target of an investigation. The trauma both sides are going through currently is far more important than anything on the ice.
Hopefully this case gets solved, and both sides get fair opportunities to testify and share what they know.
This is a delicate subject and should be treated as such. These things are never fun to write or talk about.
2015 Traverse City Tournament
The eight teams set to participate in the 2015 Traverse City Prospect Tournament in Michigan have been announced.
The Carolina Hurricanes are among this list of teams, one that includes the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.
You can read more about the format of the tournament and how this is a very special year for it HERE.
The tournament’s trophy, the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup, has been named in honor of the late Matthew Wuest, the legendary founder of CapGeek. He lost his courageous battle with colon cancer in March of 2015.
He was an inspirational and helpful person to an innumerable amount of people, and it would have been hard to find another man worth honoring at this tournament, having been one of the first people to cover the tournament in such great lengths years ago.
The tournament will begin on September 11.
Signings
Yesterday featured several signings, both in-house and off of the free agent market.
The Colorado Avalanche signed 23-year-old goalie Calvin Pickard to a one-year contract for the 2015-2016 season.
The goalie played just 13 games in the NHL with Colorado last season, but he posted a 6-7-3 record with a 2.35 goals against average and .932 save percentage. He spent five separate stints with the club during the past season.
Pickard looks to be a great young goalie and a potentially viable number two to current starting goalie Semyon Varlamov.
The Arizona Coyotes inked young defenseman Brandon Gormley to a one-year deal, two-way deal yesterday. The 23-year-old defenseman tallied 4 points in 27 games with the ‘Yotes a year ago.
Gormley, 23, is a former 13th overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks back in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
The Coyotes have good young players coming up, and Gormley is one of them. He has a good chance of breaking into the NHL this season on an Arizona blue line that isn’t very deep.
Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed veteran center and former Stanley Cup Champion Matt Cullen to a one-year, $800,000 deal for the upcoming season.
Cullen, 38, won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 under GM Jim Rutherford. This will be Cullen’s third stint with the general manager after two stays in Carolina, and now one in Pittsburgh.
This is a good depth signing for a team with a lot of top-flight talent. Cullen is a veteran, but he can still play. He tallied 25 points with a +6 rating last season in 62 games played in Nashville.
A veteran of 1,212 NHL games, Matt Cullen will provide the Pens with depth, leadership, and cheap production. This was a great signing by the Penguins.