There is no need to waste more space railing against a league for how they run an All-Star game. Because honestly, what’s the difference? (Except you, baseball, which nonsensically decided to make an exhibition actually count for something.)
The game itself is always silly and hard to watch. Sports are predicated on effort, and when there’s very little, there is very little appeal.
Yet here is the essential point I think leagues miss constantly and which drives fans’ attention away from these things: It’s not about showcasing the players’ athletic talents. That gets showcased in the postseason, when the best are playing the best with a championship on the line. (In the case of the NBA, that doesn’t happen until the conference finals, but again, I digress.)
The leagues should realize that above all else, All-Star weekends should be an opportunity to showcase what they struggle to reveal during the grind of a regular season: the players’ personalities.
Which brings us to the NHL’s new format, announced Wednesday night at 8 p.m, which every great public-relations person will tell you is the optimal time. The game is going to exclusively 3-on-3 hockey, with one team per division playing a mini-tournament for a final cash prize of $1 million.
Whatever.
Or, as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said when asked about the new format: “For an All-Star weekend, why not?”
But the league erred in eliminating the “fantasy draft” the night before the game. Last year in Columbus, it was an absolute riot. The players were, in their own words, “hydrating” on stage all night. They were making fun of each other, doubled over laughing, referencing recent rivalries and feuds, as explained by the emcees. A car was given away to the player picked last.
It was a glimpse at what us lucky reporters get to see all the time — the majority of NHL players are down-to-earth and funny. I’ve covered every major sport enough to know pro hockey players are unique in the sense that most of them are nice, considerate guys. Henrik Lundqvist lost Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final in Los Angeles and did his interviews with tears in his bloodshot eyes and pads still on his legs. Hockey players are just a different breed.
That’s the angle the league’s marketers should take with the All-Star Game. Get these guys together, let them “hydrate” all they want and hold some boom mikes over their heads — televised on a delay, of course. The on-ice activities are one big joke, so don’t pretends it matters. It shouldn’t. These athletes go through 10 months a year preparing and playing games that matter. If they’re fortunate enough to get picked to participate in the All-Star weekend, let them embrace the party.
So bring back the fantasy draft. If you want a mini-tournament of 3-on-3 hockey — a fine idea — let the fans vote the four captains, and let them draft from the pool of 40 players picked by NHL Hockey Operations Department. With the league having the power to chose 40 of the 44 All-Stars, they should also err on the side of personality rather than pure talent.
This weekend is supposed to be a reward for these players. Let them enjoy it, and let everyone else enjoy it by getting an inside glimpse at their colorful personalities. The format of the game doesn’t matter. If you want it to be a good promotion for generating interest from fans of all stripes — diehards or fringe followers — then bring back the draft.
Toews’ flying fists
It’s clear Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is a leader. But a fighter? The three-time Stanley Cup champ got into two fights in the past two weeks, one with the Blues’ David Backes and one with the Devils’ Adam Henrique. For being so skilled, the guy can hold his own.
McDavid healing quickly
Good news for more than just Oilers fans. Wunderkind Connor McDavid said, “I definitely feel way better than I thought I would” in recovering from surgery to repair a broken clavicle suffered Nov. 5. He was supposed to be out “months,” but he’s already riding the bike and trying to stay in shape.
“If there is any positive to it, it’s that it’s a bone,” McDavid said. “That can heal. It’s not like it’s a separated shoulder or torn labrum or anything like that. Bones heal, and I just have to wait for it to be 100 percent.”
Hopefully sooner rather than later for everyone that enjoys the sport.
Stay tuned …
… to Guy Boucher and the Penguins.
Boucher, the former Lightning head coach who was fired from his gig in Switzerland, is planning to return to the United States. That has led to massive speculation of where he could land, and who might want him.
But really, the question has to be: Why would anyone? While in Tampa, Boucher played a brutal system that was a modified trap, stifling talent such as Steven Stamkos. Surely he’s ready to adapt — right, Torts? — and he might be a good addition as an assistant somewhere. But even so, he couldn’t cut it with SC Bern, so he’s going to turn around the Penguins?
And of all the teams he might benefit, the Penguins are at the bottom of the list. You want to tell Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel they need to clog the neutral zone?
Pittsburgh has struggled this season, no question, with a 12-7-0 start good for third in the Metropolitan Division, but disappointing for all the lofty expectations. Maybe coach Mike Johnston’s message has worn tired already at the start of his second season. Maybe GM Jim Rutherford knows a change behind the bench needs to happen if Sid & Co. are going to wake up.
But the answer is not Boucher. Not now. Not for that team.
Parting shot
Just in case the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Lightning on Thursday in Tampa Bay wasn’t heartbreaking enough for Blueshirts fans — and with the game-winner being shorthanded goal with 1:06 remaining, it surely was — how about this epic celebration from Anton Stralman from earlier in the week? Oh, Strals-y.