The Puck Stops Here
On Missing The All Star Game
by PuckStopsHere on 01/20/12 at 01:13 PM ET
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The NHL All Star Game goes next weekend. When the NHL announced the 2012 All Star rosters, it was quickly noticed that two veteran players who were expected to be there were omitted. They were Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks. Lidstrom is among the best defencemen in hockey. I would make him a Norris Trophy nominee at this point in the season. Selanne is the obvious Anaheim representative, but his spot was taken by Corey Perry. News soon broke that both of these players had asked to have the All Star weekend off and the NHL was honoring their requests.
I suspect there might be a third player in their camp who the media has not outed. Logan Couture seems an odd choice as the San Jose Sharks representative. Joe Thornton is a more likely choice as he has more points, ice time and a better +/-.
Some have made a big deal about this. They think that players should be forced to play in the All Star Game and perhaps be suspended for missing the game. This is a controversy the All Star Game doesn’t need.
The All Star Game is a spectacle. It is a showcase of hockey to people who rarely watch. It is a party for the NHL’s sponsors. It is a weekend off for most of the players in the league and it is a poorly played hockey game. The history of star players asking to be omitted from the game goes back about 15 years. For the most part star players have silently asked the league to be left out of the game and their requests have been honored. In 2009, Gary Bettman took a stand to try to end this and it was a mistake. The All Star Games of the late 1990’s where a few star players asked to be left off the roster were no less of a party for the NHL sponsors. They were no less of a showcase for fans who rarely watch hockey. They were no more poorly played than the other recent games. It is best to let a few veteran players who do not want to be there have the weekend off than to pick a fight about it.
Giving Selanne and Lidstrom the weekend off from the All Star Game, when it is something they both want, is a better solution than punishing them with the “honor” of being an All Star and forcing them to play or be suspended. Anyone who says otherwise is probably trying to pick a fight or else they are likely newcomers to the game who have not seen the history of star players getting the All Star Game off. The game will be the same spectacle without Lidstrom or Selanne, so why punish those players?
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Tags: Joe+Thornton, Nicklas+Lidstrom, Teemu+Selanne,
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