NHL investigation into Patrick Kane is still ongoing
The NHL is continuing their investigation into the sexual assault allegations made against Patrick Kane
During the summer of 2015, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane faced sexual assault allegations while he was in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. The prosecution would later decide to not pursue further charges against Kane and Kane will not face any legal discipline from the courts from the incident.
However, Kane is not off the hook as far as league punishment. The NHL’s investigation into those allegations are still going on.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league's own investigation into sexual assault allegations against Patrick Kane "remains ongoing."
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 30, 2016
Facing legal discipline without charges is nothing new. The NFL has notably suspended stars recently even though they had not been found guilty of anything. For instance, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended despite not being charged. The NHL would have the authority to do so as well.
Per NHL.com:
"(Section 18-A.5) A Player subject to Commissioner Discipline for Off-Ice Conduct may seek a reasonable delay in such proceedings in order to retain and seek the advice of counsel in the event his conduct may also be subject to a criminal investigation by any governmental authority… The League may suspend the Player pending the League’s formal review and disposition of the matter where the failure to suspend the Player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the League."
The last sentence is what’s important. The NHL could feasibly argue that Patrick Kane put himself in a situation that created substantial risk of material harm to the reputation and/or interests of the league. However, that would be difficult to prove. It’s not likely that Patrick Kane will be suspended, but nothing can be ruled out.
Kane would likely challenge any suspension in court (similar to Tom Brady and Deflategate) and the NHL might not want a lengthy court battle. Regardless, Kane’s incident, even though he never got charged with anything, still didn’t make the NHL look good.