- Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald: The Blackhawks don’t know yet if Patrick Kane will be available to them when the season starts. If Kane is charged, the NHL can suspend Kane indefinitely. If the NHL does nothing, the Blackhawks could do nothing, look to trade him, release him, or suspend him.The Blackhawks have continually warned Kane about his off-ice behavior. The Blackhawks likely know more about what is going on than the rest of us.Rozner thinks the Blackhawks have talked the NHL about the Kane situation, have likely received calls from teams on Kane, and are considering all options.
- Eric Macramalla of TSN: Given the amount of ‘pills’ that Mike Richards was caught with, he’s not going to going to jail if found guilty. The worst case scenario would be a fine and community service.The grievance that NHLPA filed on behalf of Richards for the Kings terminating his contract could take over two months to get resolved. The NHLPA has filed for an expedited hearing.
- Jenn Menendez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: There has been basically no significant information that has come out with regards to the potential sale of the Penguins. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle have been looking to sell the team since June.
“I’m not surprised at all, because these are very valuable assets and there are complications, particularly if the buyer is someone who hasn’t been involved in professional sports in the past,” said Bob Caporale, a former Penguins lawyer and founding partner at Game Plan, a sports finance, investment banking and consulting firm. “It may take time to do their due diligence. Frankly at this time of year, as you know vacations and so forth will always slow things up. I’m sure in the fall things will get more active.”
The development deal on the adjacent land to the Consol Energy Center, if included in the sale, could make a difference in the sale price and length of time to complete a sale.
