Should the NHL drop the All Star Game

[Uncle Danny 155]

UD, I don't disagree with most of the rest of your post, but this part... well, if the NHL wanted to actually showcase the players and call this a national marketing weekend, they might want to consider putting the festivities on a network more people can actually see.

I get Versus, only because I have to shell out for digital cable top tier in order to get Center Ice. Otherwise, Versus is not available here. The NHL Network is not and will not be offered in this market; that's according to Time Warner Austin, who ought to know. There are other ways to get the feeds, obviously, if you have the time/money/energy to spend jacking around to get hold of it and if you're willing to sit in front of a computer screen all weekend. The computer route is inferior and inconvenient for most, but a hard core fan might do it. Casual fans wouldn't know where to start.

My point is, if the NHL actually cared about attracting fans, they would make the showcase available. I am not sure what the ASG is good for, other than fun for the players who are going and for the fans who will break their necks to try and see their favorites.

The good thing about this weekend is that it will give some of our players a chance to rest and relax. It's a long season and they've been working hard. Other than that, if the NHL did away with ASG, I would not miss it at all. JMO.

Fair points all. What I was getting at by mentioning the national exposure is that many casual fans who will watch only the odd home team matches, but don't obsess over the game, (like me and many of you) watching any game that is on at a given moment, will tune in for this event and, hopefully, find a marquee player they can get behind.

I mean, who wouldn't want to watch more Pens or Caps games after seeing Malkin or Ovechkin play?

As I said, it's not perfect, but it's the best we've got right now. Your point is well taken, though. It would be a far more effective spectacle if it was on, say, ESPN.

[Superman54 91]

i actually enjoy the youngstars....

[BeeRYCE 2]

i actually enjoy the youngstars....

Then you might as well go to your local hockey arena at 12am and watch some pick up hockey.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

No way should the winner of the all-star game get home ice in the finals. That is the worst idea baseball has ever come up with.

How mad would all of us be if (possibly when) the Red Wings get to the finals, and Game 7 is at Scotiabank Place instead of JLA, even though the Wings finished 15-20 points ahead of Ottawa in the standings? The regular season needs to stand for something.

I would have no problem if the NHL got rid of the all-star game. Give the players some well-deserved rest. We all made it through the lockout without hockey, the fans can survive a week.

[shadow47 1]

There are some instances where even the numbers don't matter, however (Rafalski this year, others in past weekends).

C'mon Loo, you mean Hasek in last year's game, we are all thinking it...well, the smart ones anyway.

[puckloo39 5,686]

C'mon Loo, you mean Hasek in last year's game, we are all thinking it...well, the smart ones anyway.

True, oh, other smart one.

How ridiculous to put Turco in over Dom, just because the ASG was held in Dallas. By that logic, Lehtonen should be starting instead of Ozzie. Everyone's conveniently forgotten that Dom sported numbers very much like Ozzie's this year, yet Dom was passed over. Go figure.

I didn't want Dom there anyway. On the off chance he got hurt, everyone would have thrown a fit. So, it's best this way. Keep Z and Dom and Cheli out for a rest. We will need them.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

The ASG is pretty lame, but the Skills comp. is OK.

[OsGOD 3]

Whatever they did to the skills comp last night.... they need to undo it for the years to come.... horrible flow and painful to watch the whole thing. eeeeek

As for the game itself... i am withholding any judgement until about 6:47pm tonight

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

How about the NHL uses there god damn millions of dollars and makes the all star game interesting. I watched the 1997 All Star game the other day and it was great, they had lights going everywhere, they had players that people cared about (No offence to Tim Thomas, or Corey Perry, but you arent all stars). And Matthew Barnaby had the best idea, PAY THE PLAYERS. Give every player on the winning team 100,000 dollars so they can spend time with there familys after the game. Oh, and as much as everyone hates him, Crosby needs to be in the All Star game, he just makes it better, same with Luongo and Broduer. We need THE REAL All Stars and the NHL to spend money on the game, then it'll be worth watching. If they dont, cancel it, it's the worst game to watch all year, like no one gives an effort at all. Same with the skills comp, that was a joke!

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

I think they should do Stanley Cup champs vs. NHL All-Stars. Old school.

As for last night.

Negatives:

- the follow-cam on breakaways. I like being able to see what move is done and the goalies reaction at the same time.

- Fastest skater. I like a longer race.

- No Rules Shoot-out. No one understood the rules. Everyone started at center ice and I don't think that the Euro players knew what they were doing, except OV. They need to open that up to the whole league, have players have the ability to practice the move and then bring them to the ASG. 5 from each conference. Although Gaborik's was a good idea in theory.

Positives:

- some aspects of the obstacle course. I like the 70' pass and the goalie shot, but the goalie should get one shot. 4 was boring.

- 3 on 3 YSG. I like it. A 3v3 OT would be a neat experiment for exhibition games in preseason.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

How about the NHL uses there god damn millions of dollars and makes the all star game interesting. I watched the 1997 All Star game the other day and it was great, they had lights going everywhere, they had players that people cared about (No offence to Tim Thomas, or Corey Perry, but you arent all stars). And Matthew Barnaby had the best idea, PAY THE PLAYERS. Give every player on the winning team 100,000 dollars so they can spend time with there familys after the game. Oh, and as much as everyone hates him, Crosby needs to be in the All Star game, he just makes it better, same with Luongo and Broduer. We need THE REAL All Stars and the NHL to spend money on the game, then it'll be worth watching. If they dont, cancel it, it's the worst game to watch all year, like no one gives an effort at all. Same with the skills comp, that was a joke!

Crosby should drop the puck at today's All star game.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Crosby should drop the puck at today's All star game.