How Will Arrest Affect Patrick Kane's Marketing Potential?

Kane Could Face Marketing Backlash After Cab Incident Sunday Morning

Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane's arrest early Sunday morning for allegedly assaulting a cab driver "won't help him land any more endorsements," but there may be a "positive or two," according to Jon Greenberg of ESPNCHICAGO.com. Kane, the No. 1 selection in the '07 NHL Draft, was "billed as the fresh face of hockey, which is why he was tabbed to be the face" of EA Sports' "NHL 10" videogame. If the allegations tied to Sunday's arrest prove "true, he just looks like another drunken college-aged idiot, another athlete with a reckless case of privilege." The incident is "is likely to cost him a pretty penny and possibly a spot on the U.S. Olympic team." However, his "national profile has received a major boost," and perhaps this news now will "endear him to the bad boy-loving American sports fans." Prior to the incident, "how many sports fans knew anything about Kane, other than his name?" Kane now "has a Q rating," and though "it's a negative one ... you gotta get on the board somehow." But Greenberg noted, "I don't see how the [Blackhawks President] John McDonough marketing machine is going to put this kid in front of the cameras as the baby face of the franchise for a while" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 8/10). WSCR-AM’s George Ofman said Kane's image "is going to take a hit." Ofman: "Endorsements are going to be held off. The Blackhawks are paying a lot of money in all of that. This kid took a really bad image hit" ("Chicago Tribune Live," CSN Chicago, 8/10). EA Sports PR Manager Jen Riley yesterday said the company has "no comment at this time" regarding the incident. In Toronto, Steve Simmons notes Sharks C Joe Thornton in '04 was "chosen for the video game cover but was replaced by EA after he was charged with assault following a nightclub fight." Simmons: "Expect Kane to be dropped just as Thornton was, but the image that will endure will be of the old man talking about being beaten up over 20 cents" (TORONTO SUN, 8/11).

Cab Incident Runs Counter To How Team Has Marketed Kane

FIVE MINUTES FOR FIGHTING: In Chicago, Rick Morrissey noted the Blackhawks had marketed Kane as the "childlike face of the franchise," an "ultra-talented wing who looked like the boy next door." Maybe he is "all that, but Sunday's news is a reminder that sometimes PR restraint isn't such a bad thing, especially involving a young adult." Morrissey: "It wouldn't have changed the cabbie incident, but it might have lessened some of the adverse reaction: Cute, angelic Patrick Kane did what?" The problem with "exuberant image-making is the fallout when reality doesn't quite match the sales job" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/10). Illinois Daily Herald columnist Tim Sassone said, "The interesting thing is how the Hawks react to this. Let's say these charges are true, and he's convicted. What do you do if one of your star players, your marketing key guy, is in trouble?" ("Monsters in the Morning," CSN Chicago, 8/10).

PROTECTION PLAN? The attorney for the alleged victim in Sunday's incident yesterday said it was "all a misunderstanding," and in Vancouver, Cam Cole writes, "If you were of a suspicious bent, you might almost think some money changed hands overnight in order to save Kane's NHL marketability, and wonder if the cabbie is suddenly in a position to pay off the mortgage on his house" (VANCOUVER SUN, 8/11).

CRUEL SUMMER: SPORTING NEWS' Craig Custance writes regardless of the outcome of the Kane case, this is at the least "another distraction in a tumultuous Blackhawks offseason." GM Dale Tallon lost his job "because of a contract snafu" and RW Marian Hossa, who signed a 12-year, $62.8M deal last month, is out "until at least Thanksgiving" after shoulder surgery. McDonough now "has to decide if Kane is the kind of player and person who can lead the Blackhawks to the promised land" (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 8/11). CSN Chicago's Dan Jiggetts said the offseason "has not been a good one for the Blackhawks." Jiggetts: "You would think that with all that was going on, the high that they were on coming off of a great season, a nice comeback season for them, that this should have been the crowning achievement for them with the signing of Marian Hossa and everybody getting excited about that. But you pick up the newspapers and it is Dale Tallon this, Marian Hossa that, Marty Havlat this, Patrick Kane that" ("Monsters in the Morning," CSN Chicago, 8/10).