Kane arrested, pleads not guilty to robbery charge

[Forkboy]

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, the top pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony robbery, and the lawyer for the cab driver Kane and his cousin allegedly attacked said Monday the incident had been blown out of proportion and the two sides "should be able to work things out."

The 20-year-old Kane and cousin James Kane, 21, were arrested in the eary hours Sunday morning. The two had apparently taken a cab from the downtown nightclub district in Buffalo, N.Y., Patrick Kane's hometown, around 4 a.m., according to local police. When the cab driver, identified as 62-year-old Jan Radecki, came up 20 cents short of the change owed on the fare, the Kanes allegedly took their money back and attacked the driver. Radecki said he was punched, grabbed by the throat, and his glasses were broken.

The cab driver's lawyer, Andrew LoTempio, told WGN radio in Chicago: "There was a dispute over the fee and it just kind of escalated from there. It was not really a robbery. That is probably a large distortion of what happened."

Patrick Kane and his cousin were each charged with felony robbery in addition to misdemeanor counts of theft of services and criminal mischief. WIVB-TV in Buffalo reported Kane pleaded not guilty to those charges in local court later Sunday.

Asked if the case would end up as a felony, LoTempio said: "Absolutely not."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=469787

- Sabres agree to terms with Mike Grier

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with unrestricted free agent forward Mike Grier, who previously played in Buffalo from 2004-06.

Grier (1/5/1975, 6’1”, 225 lbs.) had 23 points (10+13) in 62 games for San Jose last season. He was third on the Sharks in hits with 147, and was tied for 12th in the NHL with four SH points. Grier missed 20 games with a knee injury last season, after averaging 77 games played during his first 11 NHL seasons. He has played at least 81 games in a season five times during his career.

Grier played in Buffalo from 2004-06, after being acquired in a trade from Washington on March 9, 2004 in exchange for Jakub Klepis. Grier posted 32 points in 95 regular season games with the Sabres, and added eight points (3+5) in 18 games during Buffalo’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006.

A native of Detroit, MI, the 34-year-old Grier has 345 points (147+198) in 914 career games with Edmonton, Washington, Buffalo and San Jose. He also has 25 points (12+13) in 88 career playoff games.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=469828

- Red Wings still have core of Stanley Cup runs

As expected, the salary-cap stricken Detroit Red Wings got hammered once free agency started July 1.

Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Kopecky and Ty Conklin led the charge out of Motown, and Jiri Hudler was considering leaving for a Russian team. In return, the Wings only were able to sign veteran journeyman defensemen Doug Janik and Andy Delmore to two-way contracts.

The total carnage appears to be messy, but outside of the Hudler fiasco, it comes as no surprise to the Wings' hierarchy, who still feel that with the team's core in place and in its prime, they again will be serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

"I believe we have the potential (to win the Cup)," Wings GM Ken Holland told NHL.com last month.

Chalk it up to smart drafting, excellent player development and inventive contracts. Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg, each home-grown players, signed cap-friendly contracts last season that should keep them in Detroit for another decade.

Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula are all signed for at least three more seasons. Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom are entering the final season of their contracts, but there's little doubt both will re-sign if they want to keep playing beyond this season. Chris Osgood is inked for two more seasons.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=457988

The Kane thing is dumb as a bag of hammers. Kane smacks a cabbie around, Hossa gets surgery that takes 4 months to recover from....the wheels are coming off already and training camp hasn't even started! :)

[MidwestRick]

1. One can only hope...

As a loyal Red Wing fan here in Chicago, I can only hope the
Hawks wheels do keep falling off. They are building a very
young and strong team. The players lost in Detroit aren't
going to kill them, but it will help the rest of the teams in
the conference catch up to them. Nobody is going to walk away
with the West as has happened in the past.

[Forkboy]

2. I still think the Hawks could take the division this year.

Which is the first time I've picked someone other than the Wings to win it in a decade. Chicago was close last year, and they've improved a lot in the off season. This Kane stuff is no biggie from the sound of things, Hossa will miss some time but will be back with plenty of season left over, Madden is huge addition. Madden brings what they were lacking most in the playoffs...some solid defensive checking, especially through the neutral zone. Madden brings that, and he score a bit as well.

The big question is in net, and that will make or break them. I'm not sold on Huet for the long haul, but we'll see.

I do think the Wings will be right there in the end though. Too much depth and talent not to be.

[MidwestRick]

3. They lost depth

...and toughness. The toughness part is more to worry about for us Wings fans then the depth. Running 3 strong lines isn't too bad in my book.

Any word on where Chelly might end up? It would be great for Chicago fans if he was able to end his career there...maybe even open up his Chilli place over by the United Center.

[Forkboy]

4. I haven't heard anything on Chelios yet.

I'd love to see him go back to Chicago (not Montreal though lol). I suspect during camp some teams will realize that they're going to be a little thin on the blue line and will offer him a one year deal of some sort. Just his experience alone is worth having around, even if he only gives you 10-12 minutes a game. I would think a team with a young D would do well to look at signing him.