Should The NHL All-Star Game Be Meaningful?
Everybody knows that the NHL All-Star game is a bit of a farce, and it’s mostly put on for the fans. However, all other leagues All-Star games are similar, and none of them have ever been amazing. The NBA has a cool slam-dunk competition, but their game is awful.
The MLB’s home-run derby is always fun to watch, but the game is usually a pitchers duel. Then the NFL’s pro-bowl gets no media attention whatsoever, as it’s sandwiched in between the conference championship and the Super Bowl. The NHL is a bit different in that it has a skills competition, which is partially fun to watch, but ultimately it gets a bit old.
While the skills competition would be a great experience for fans and even the players, what does the actual game have to offer? It’s a lackadaisical game that nobody cares about and there’s virtually no hitting. Sure, there are a few nice moves around the ice, but besides that it’s not entertaining hockey at all. We’ve seen how much players care about this game, and the answer is not much.
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Sidney Crosby has only played in one All-Star game because of real injuries and also “injuries” meaning it was precautionary. Players don’t want to get hurt in the game, because they don’t want to risk anything for a mean nothing game. We see it all the time with star players, as they’ve been to a few games and after that they take the option on missing out.
That’s why we have Nick Foligno as a team captain, because guys like him are of course excited about playing in an All-Star game, as it’s a once in a career opportunity. But for players like Sidney Crosby, it’s just another event where he has to get asked a million questions and sign autographs for all his fans.
So the actual game is not that great, and it doesn’t mean a thing, but there are some people who want to change that. The problem is, there aren’t that many solutions. A game that features the leagues best players that have mostly never played together should not have enormous significance, but there should be some implications to add to the drama of it.
I sort of like what the MLB does where the winning league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. It makes the game a bit more intense, and some of the players have to take it seriously. Of course, there are probably only about 10 teams that actually think they can make it to the World Series, so the rest of the players most likely treat it like any other All-Star game.
Still, there is some intrigue in the game. If the NHL did this format, they would have to go back to the East/West format instead of the two captain system. I think it would be a good way to perhaps get more viewers for the NHL, and they can hype it up a bit more. Home-ice advantage in the Cup Finals isn’t a huge reward for winning, but it is significant.
The fact remains that the game itself and the charade surrounding it is rather pointless
Furthermore, I found it impossible to come up with anything else that makes the game significant, but also not have too drastic consequences. The only thing I could come up with is each team from the winning conference gets a monetary bonus from the league, but where that money would come from I have no idea. If you see where I’m going with this, it’s hard to come up with ideas.
The league has tried to make the game more fun and get the ratings up by introducing new events to the skills competition and creating a player draft before the game, but the fact remains that the game itself and the charade surrounding it is rather pointless. Are you really going to say that Justin Faulk is a more deserving player than Erik Karlsson? No, but the Hurricanes needed a representative, so he got to go.
In the end, I don’t complain too much about the All-Star game because it really doesn’t matter, and the only reason they have it is for the fans. If I had an opportunity to go to he Fan Fest and meet my favourite players, I would be over the moon. But for the majority of us, it’s insignificant.
That’s why I think the NHL should at least explore the possibility of having a more competitive All-Star game. It will never be perfect as the MLB has shown, but it can at least be better.