Great promoter of the game.....What a moron.  It was a SKILLS competitiong, and those are skills that can be very exciting for fans to see showcased.  Wow, I’ve heard that this kid is full of himself and has a bad attitude, but I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt--well, not anymore.  If he plans on being an elite defenseman in the NHL he needs to back his game and his league and try to help increase it’s fan base, not help the public trash the league…

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 02/08/08 at 04:47 PM ET

Maybe NHLJEFF should learn to read before he comments.

Posted by Ted from Innisfil, Ontario on 02/08/08 at 04:56 PM ET

Wow, I’m stupid.  Good call, haha.

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 02/08/08 at 04:58 PM ET

Hey Jeff,
I think you may have hall of famer Marcel Dionne mixed up with Dion Phaneuf.

Learn to listen to the Vets.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 02/08/08 at 04:59 PM ET

Yeah, yeah....I was wondering why they spelled it wrong...guess I should have read the article and not just the clip.  I feel very stupid at the moment, haha.  It’s times like these I wish this site had a “delete” button on the comments.

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 02/08/08 at 05:02 PM ET

Agree with him on one point, the NHL has to stop trying to be the NBA.

Posted by Rachel on 02/08/08 at 05:05 PM ET

My fault here folks, I should have done this (Marcel), which I now have.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 02/08/08 at 05:11 PM ET

How the hell can you confuse Dionne with Dion?

Posted by Lyle Richardson from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada on 02/08/08 at 05:38 PM ET

Gimme a break.  I just glanced over the name when I was reading the clip from the article and that Phaneuf was the first guy I thought of (also, someone spelled his name similar to that in a forum I was on earlier and I thought it was incorrect, but didn’t bother to check up on it, and I guess that could have still been on my mind).  Anyway, calm down, we all make mistakes.  I already feel like enough of a jackass

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 02/08/08 at 05:41 PM ET

This thread is cracking me up!  Usually, it’s Celine Dion that generates this type of vitriol. 

Posted by dash_pinched on 02/08/08 at 05:49 PM ET

What does the south have to do with the fact there was a skills competition? I don’t think the people at Philips Arena had anything to do with the schedule or what each event would entail. Perhaps Dionne may want to look to Bettman, who came from the NBA in the first place.

It’s far more convenient to blame a region where Hockey is just starting to take root, though, isn’t it Dionne?

Posted by Alan` from Atlanta on 02/08/08 at 06:16 PM ET

Hey Alan, Marcel was playing when Hockey didn’t take root in Atlanta the first time around.  The NHL wouldn’t suffer at all if they replaced Bettman with Dionne.

Or even Mickey Mouse, would be better than little gary.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 02/08/08 at 06:50 PM ET

The Atlanta Flames leaving Atlanta in the 70’s had less to do with the team and more to do with the owner rapidly approaching bankruptcy due to the decline in the housing and building market.

Posted by Adam on 02/08/08 at 07:58 PM ET

Todd: Other than your proposal to replace Bettman with Dionne, your comment doesn’t make a lot of sense. All I was saying is that “the south” is being unfairly scapegoated, when one should look no further than he who came from the NBA himself.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 02/08/08 at 08:03 PM ET

I don’t see what the big deal is about injecting a little more fun into the skills competition.  Although, I did cringe both times Ovechkin swung and missed on his attempts.  I could understand why Dionne might find that embarrassing, since a non-hockey fan probably sees that and says, “That guy stinks!” rather than “Wow, what a move!” I think the only moves that scored goals were the “boring” ones you’d actually use in a game. 

For me the Skills Competition has always been about having fun and seeing the personalities of the players, which you don’t really get to see during a game.  Even though it was kind of awkward (hey, it was the first time around), I still liked the Shootout Challenge.  Maybe not the 2 non-hockey judges (who the hell was that blond dude anyway?).  The players were good sports about the whole thing and seemed to enjoy the experience.  I’d advocate getting rid of the actual shootout rather than this “fake” one.

Posted by K24 from NYC on 02/08/08 at 08:32 PM ET