Evander Kane officially charged over alleged Buffalo nightclub incident

The Sabres power forward was handcuffed outside of Central Booking in Buffalo, where he was charged with one count of misdemeanor trespassing and several counts of harassment. The charges stem from an alleged late-night incident at a nightclub.

Buffalo Sabres power forward Evander Kane has officially been charged with criminal trespass and up to four counts of non-criminal harassment stemming from an incident at a local nightclub, notes the Buffalo News. In a surreal scene, Kane was even handcuffed when he met with detectives outside of the city's Central Booking Bureau:

Kane allegedly got into an altercation with several women and a bouncer and the criminal trespass charge relates to his alleged unwillingness to leave the nightclub.

While nothing has been proven yet, the charges come after a long period of speculation over the fracas, which allegedly happened late last month. Kane was also cleared in March of any wrongdoing in a matter involving a young woman way back in December.

While full of potential on the ice, Kane has found himself in the off-ice spotlight way too often in his young career. He's only in Buffalo due to a rift with his then-teammates in Winnipeg, who apparently threw his clothes in the shower when he missed a meeting. And there were smaller, sillier controversies earlier in his Jets career involving pictures of him posing with stacks of money in Las Vegas, or the time he had the initials of a favorite hip-hop crew shaved into his hair.

But Kane has also pushed his luck in Buffalo. He was suspended for a game this past season after missing practice, the day after he was in Toronto for the NBA All-Star Game.

Kane's lawyer, Paul Cambria (who also defended Patrick Kane in Buffalo) vigorously defended his client in the Buffalo News article, but even if Cambria is right, the lack of maturity on Kane's part is troubling. Here is a young player who certainly has the right to have a good time, but not if it's constantly tripping up his pro career. Should Kane face a long legal proceeding over these new charges, it will be a distraction for both himself and his teammates, a Sabres squad hoping to keep pushing up towards the playoffs.