NHL will 'watch the process play out' on Patrick Kane rape investigation

TORONTO – The NHL will take a ‘wait and see’ type approach with troubled Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane.

When asked about Kane, who is subject to a rape investigation, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL needed the process to play out before deciding how to deal with Kane from a disciplinary perspective.

“Obviously when a player is involved in something like Patrick Kane is subject to right now in terms of the authorities investigating and looking, it's unfortunate, it's a terrible thing, but we're going to have to watch the process play out and at the appropriate time we'll make whatever decisions have to be made at the time,” Bettman said.

When asked if the NHL has started its own investigation on Kane, Bettman indicated one had not begun.

"At the appropriate time we will look into it,” he said.

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The NHL suspended Kings defenseman Slava Voynov with pay after he was arrested under suspicion of domestic violence. Voynov was then charged with a felony and pled no contest to misdemeanors. He’s still under suspension by the league according to Bettman who also said as of Wednesday morning he was still in jail.

Bettman did trumpet the overall record of the NHL when asked about using the NFL, which has taken a few PR hits over off-field player discipline, the last few months, as a learning tool.

“Without commenting on any other leagues, what I've said is overwhelmingly we have over 700 players and overwhelmingly they conduct themselves in a magnificent, appropriate way that reflects well on each other, and on their teams, the league and the game,” Bettman said. “As I've said as well we've had a variety of programs in place, we're constantly looking at what we can do to make sure that the programs are touching the right bases and are effective, but we focus on what we think is best for our players and our game. As I've said, overwhelmingly our players do the right things."

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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