from Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times,

It all starts with Kane, of course. The Hawks’ summer of celebration turned into a summer of silence last month when Kane became the subject of a police investigation, and now a grand jury. The Hawks still have not said whether or not Kane — who is entering the first year of an eight-year, $84-million contract — will be at camp. They haven’t even announced a camp schedule or a media day yet. It’s a big decision, and one on which the Hawks are obviously spending a lot of time.

Kane has not been charged with a crime, but will the image-conscious Hawks trot Kane out there with his teammates in front of the public as if nothing’s changed? Will they try to keep him away from the media circus his presence will surely create? Will they have him actually address the situation publicly for the first time? The safe and prudent thing to do is to keep Kane away from the team and have him work out on his own until the investigation reaches some sort of resolution, for better or worse. It might cost him the preseason. It might even cost him some of the regular season. But, at this stage of the investigation and at this stage of the season, the risk of having Kane on the ice is far, far greater than the reward.

There is no good answer here. Kane’s presence, fairly or unfairly, would be a massive distraction. And even without him there, Kane’s status will be the dominant story line of camp, and for the foreseeable future.

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