MacK_Attack

No, but the NHL clearly drew a line saying that enough was enough. There was 11 months to let the players know that they had to go to the off-ice events, even if they have a minor injury and can't play. If they didn't get the message, then the onus falls on the GM who was part of the meeting that created this rule.

If a guy tears an ACL right before the All-Star game, he won't be suspended because there's no chance he'll be playing right after the All-Star game.

Again, he's not being asked to play. He's being asked to go to corporate schmozz events and sign a few autographs.

So then shouldn't Datsyuk be too injured to play on Tuesday? Hip Flexors take weeks to heal.

Unfortunately, equipment seems to be manufactured and designed towards performance instead of protection these days. All the high-ankle sprains from the skates are proof of that. The boots used to allow for ankle flex to take those kinds of spills into the boards, but they don't anymore.

The NHL GM's agreed last year that players wouldn't be able to skip the entire weekend unless they were too injured to travel/take part in sponsor events. It's not a new revelation. If the GM didn't relay that message to his players prior to their making other plans for All-Star weekend, then that's his problem. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/News/2009...8127996-cp.html

Because it was getting out of hand. It was never this bad for players getting "hurt" right before the All-Star Game. Whether it's a change in attitude from the players or what, I'm not sure.

Legit fan balloting is somehow going to make the All-Star game more enjoyable? It was legit until they started doing online balloting, and even then people hated the game and the players looked for ways to get out of it.

That's what doctors are for, no?

That's fairly impossible for hockey. There's no way owners would agree to having their best players playing a full-contact, full-out hockey game, no matter what the prize at the end is.

No, seems a lot of injuries magically heal on the Monday after All-Star weekend.

If they're that injured that they can't do things like that, then missing a regular season game shouldn't be a big deal.

Teams have the option of taking the 2/3 cap hit spread out over twice the length of the remaining contract, or the 2/3 for just the length of the contract. Either way, it counts against the cap.

They're not being asked to go on the ice. They're being asked to go to Montreal for the off-ice stuff, the autograph signings and the sponsor events.

Yes, but they're doing it this weekend for the sponsors and corporations who buy the high-end season tickets, the ones that make the salaries as high as they are. That's more important than ever since they'll have to grovel for every penny until the economy gets better. Datsyuk wasn't going to be in the breakaway competition, but he would've been in another event for sure. It shouldn't be a big deal. If you're so hurt that you can't travel or anything for the whole weekend, missing one game shouldn't be a big deal.

It's not a suspension for not playing, it's a suspension for not showing up at all. They aren't being asked to play, they're being asked to sign a few autographs and do a few photo-ops.

Right, but the players sign an NHL contract, not a Detroit Red Wings contract.

They would have been warned long before today. This "rule" isn't a secret among those involved in the league. It's been around for a while.

You go to Montreal, you do the autograph signings, you do the sponsor events and you can play on Tuesday or whenever the first game back is.

They just want them to go to Montreal and take part in off-ice stuff. Meet 'n greets, stuff like that.

Conduct detrimental to the league. Done.

That's been the NHL "rule" for quite awhile. If you completely skip All-Star weekend, you either sit out the game before the weekend, or the game after the weekend.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=264137&amp...s=topStory_main

I think the general thought is that if they found ways to make scoring easier, then teams would base their "systems" around scoring goals, not preventing them.

TO PIT: Mathieu Garon TO EDM: Dany Sabourin, Ryan Stone, 2011 4th round pick http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/01/17/garon_trade/