NHL 16 Pulls Patrick Kane as Cover Star Over Rape Allegations

EA has announced that Patrick Kane will no longer appear on the cover of NHL 16, with Chicago Blackhawks teammate Jonathan Toews becoming the sole star on the game's box. 

Original the game's cover featured Toews and Kane together as they lifted the Stanley Cup trophy after their victory however, following Kane is now embroiled in an alleged rape investigation in his hometown of Hamburg, New York. Local police are currently gathering and testing forensic evidence. 

Yesterday EA Sports issued a brief statement on Twitter, which confirmed that due to the current investigation, Patrick Kane will no longer star on the game's cover or be involved in any associated promotional events or activities

Official statement regarding Patrick Kane. pic.twitter.com/MVurUYOHT8

— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 12, 2015

The cover at the top of this post, featuring Toews alone, will now replace the original cover below. This isn't the first time an NHL cover has been changed. Joe Sakic replaced Dany Heatley in 2004 when Heatley lost control of his Ferrari, resulting in the death of teammate Dan Snyder.