Media outlets like the Province pride themselves on being the one-stop shop for Vancouver sports news. That means, even in the heat of summer, they’ve managed to offer two different takes on the hottest rumour of the day: Evander Kane being traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

The reason Kane’s name is being brandished about in trade rumours is because, for the second time in five months, he is the subject of a criminal investigation.

Kane was investigated for a sex offence by Buffalo police after an incident on December 27 of last year at a Buffalo hotel. He was cleared of the allegation.

Now, the Sabres forward has been arrested and faces numerous charges for physical violence towards three different women in regards to his behaviour  in Buffalo on the morning of June 24.

Sabres GM Tim Murray is known to be a no-nonsense type and his recent comments about Kane led many to believe that he’s on his way out of town.

That, combined with the facts that Kane is from Vancouver, is a former Giant, and has a fan in Canucks GM Jim Benning, has led to rampant speculation that he’s headed home.

Evander Kane is good at scoring goals and he would inject a scoring-starved team with some excitement and much-needed offence. He might even provide the Canucks and Benning what they are looking for: good numbers at the box office and maybe a stab at a playoff spot. It’s a business, right?

But at what cost?

For young kids growing up watching and playing hockey, the hometown players are always easy to love. It’s rewarding to see someone have success when they come from the same place that you do. Heroes are born that way.

So this rumour should actively scare some people—hockey parents with young kids especially.

The only reason he’s even playing for Buffalo is because of his tumultuous time as a Winnipeg Jet.

To recap his time with Winnipeg: there was the money phone, the shaving of “YMCMB” (Young Money Cash Money Billionaires) into the back of his head, the money push-ups, the racism allegations he threw at his critics, and, of course, the track suit incident that would ultimately end his time in Manitoba.

Because of the enormous amount of respect that professional athletes garner just for doing their jobs, those ‘what are you thinking’ moments didn’t ruin Kane’s reputation. Instead, his move to Buffalo sprouted magazine pieces that tried to craft an image of a young man who grew up poor and just needed a fresh start.

But all of those incidents in Winnipeg pale in respect to being charged with serious criminal offences as a Sabre. If he's ultimately convicted, the public could conclude he’s moved from being a brash, cocky individual to a real threat to society.

Anyone from Vancouver will want to identify with Kane. He went to John Oliver Secondary. He grew up in a two-bedroom apartment with his parents and two sisters in East Vancouver. It’s a story anyone from Vancouver—or anywhere else really—could get behind. Until now.

As we’ve seen with the Patrick Kane allegations, there’s a real desire by media and fans alike to rely on the “innocent until proven guilty” phrase.

There’s a good chance that Evander Kane will be back playing hockey in October. Let’s just hope it’s not for the Canucks.