You all know that I am not a fan of all-star games in any sport. Yesterday's fiasco proved that hockey should dispense with its all-star game. Twenty-one goals in sixty minutes. That's a goal every three minutes. Hockey? Why not have a shootout for sixty minutes. They would probably score less goals.
Hockey has enough special events to attract new fans and retain old fans. The Winter Classic seems to be a hit, plus the Olympics when they come around. They are special and draw huge crowds both at the events and on TV. What kind of ratings did last night's game draw on Versus?
The gimmick of having players pick their teams is just that. A gimmick. If hockey intends to upgrade its products in the eyes of the viewers then it should do what it does best. Play hockey and play it the old fashion way. And while we are at it. Get rid of the shootout. Go to a ten minute OT and if the game ends in a tie, so be it. As a start, get rid of the NHL All-Star game. It does nothing to enhance the sport.
But what do I know? I'm just an old fashioned hockey guy.
Dan Bernstein / CBS Chicago:
All-Star Sunday? Hardly --
Hockey, football and basketball are true team sports where defense and toughness win titles and define identities. Seeing great players engaged in a lesser version of the game is pointless and unfulfilling. Only baseball is able to retain any actual quality, and even MLB needed artifice to give fans a vested interest in the action or the outcome...Behind the Net:
How Ridiculous is the NHL All-Star Game? --
It's just not that exciting to watch something that doesn't resemble NHL hockey...Rando Mango:
Yes, the NHL All-Star Game and NFL's Pro Bowl Still Suck --
You've got a 21 goal NHL game, in a league and era where you're lucky to see 21 goals over five regular season, and yet the All-Star game was actually more boring as far as I could tell. What's more exciting than a goal and literally nobody gets out of their seats and almost as many applaud? ...Life in the Philloverse:
All-Star Bore --
This is the worst time of year. Not because of all the snow. It's because it's All-Star season. Today both the NHL All-Star Game and Pro Bowl were held. In a few weeks the NBA will follow with its All-Star Game.Drury Lane:
I won't beat around the bush. I think all-star games suck. Sports leagues continue to try to reinvent them, but to me they're beyond redemption...
All-Star Games = All Bore Games --
Worst then the games not mattering could be the fact that most of them aren't played like real games (baseball would be an exception, for the most part to all of this paragraph for that matter). The NHL and NFL games lose most, if not all, of their physicality which is a big aspect of thier games and no one plays any real defense in any all star game...The Fitz Blitz:
NHL All-Star Draft Gets Four Thumbs Down --
But as a fan and viewer, the draft just seemed lame, and a lot like a bad reality show. To paraphrase Rick James according to comedian Dave Chappelle, “I wish I had more hands, so I could give that draft, four thumbs down.”Betting Hockey:
NHL All-Star Game 2011: In the End, All-Star Draft Was a Bore
I just see it as marketing. Not sure how effective it is, but I do think it's fun for families to watch.
I stopped looking for tension filled hockey in the ASG decades ago. Was interested in seeing some of the proceedings though.
To me, a nice break in a long season for the Rangers to come charging out hard again afterward. I'm glad there is an All-Star Game break, even if the focus is on family entertainment and not competitive hockey.
The all star game seems like a big practical joke that everyone is in on except the goalies. Everyone has a grand old time skating around the pond and making swiss cheese out of the best goalies in the game. If I was Henrik I would say thankyou for the invite, but no thanks for the playing. Why give the best players in the game more confidence that they can put it past you at will. It's a suckers game for goalies. Maybe the goalie guild will figure that out someday, and they'll all boycott its sorry ass.
Yes, let's put the All Star goalies in the dunk tank. So much fun watching them get doused! Not!
blow-me-down-If I want fun and family entertainment in hockey I watch my Grandson's games. Those really are fun.
Fitzmeyer-The jokes are on the goalies and the fans that watch.
Thank God I got over that ailment years ago that an All Star game was a game to watch. It's not.