All-Star Weekend Open Thread

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

That "Breakaway challenge" was a huge let down. It was a shootout with a bit of fancy, there were 2 get out of your seat moves. I was hoping to see something crazy, not something I see every shootout.

Steven Stamkos shouldve been invited, his shootout moves on TSN were friggin SICK.

[Jocu 0]

This judging is ridiculous. Clement creams himself over Getszlaf.

AND THERE'S THE FIRST "IF CROSBY WERE HERE..." COMMENT!

Completely unfounded too, since Crosby doesn't really have moves like that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g30mBnvGw_s

Crosby is indeed "moveless".

[RainingBlood 8]

I wasted good dvr spot for this s***.

[Vladiator 116]

I wasted good dvr spot for this s***.

That was the worst skills competition ever. I was very disappointed as I have always thought it to be the best part of the break. VS screws things up once again. Let's just pull some stupid hick off the street from TN to do the judging next year.

[#19=Legend 29]

WOW! What a friggin joke.

I would like to see the viewer results to see approx. how many people tuned into that waste of time.

Now i gotta wait till wednesday to see something worth watching....

[Duck Guy 86]

that was the my first time watching a skillz comp. Is it ussaly that boring? or was it just this year? i mean i thought i was going to fall asleep.

[Jocu 0]

Having goalies for the shootout challenged kinda ruined it. Nabokov pulling out pokechecks didn't help the players' creativity. I'd laugh if Hasek was there and he did his death lunge, completely killing Ovechkin's little Tiger Woods shot.

It'd be like having Shaq between the basket and you being asking to pull of something nice. A shooter tutor would of worked better.

Also, get some of the guys who actually have moves worth showing off like Kane, Gagner, Schremp, etc out there. That'd get you on ESPN.

[gcom007 1,465]

Thus far, atrocious on so many levels. Oh well. It's the All Star game.

[FinRedWing 172]

This years Skills Competition wasn't great,but not that horrible either.

Just watched the CBC broadcast,they only had like two players mic'd up - Iggy & Phaneuf.

Also got to watch VS feed a little bit,it was very different from CBC's (to listen to).

Dunno, but it was kind of neat that the first two players they interviewed were Nick and Ovy. And not a single mention of he-who-should-not-be-mentioned yet!

Gotta love Edi's bitterness,it really comes straight from the heart.

Haha, Phaneuf.. who woulda thought.

Apparently, he's the best there is in shootouts.

And he will hold that title until next year,we'll see IF someone can take it away from him then.

Yeah, I didn't even catch/know who the other two judges were (I knew Clement and Mellanby, obviously).

Lame. Doubt I'll even bother with the game tomorrow, considering how dull this was.

Come on Edi,it wouldn't be the same without you commenting on VS etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g30mBnvGw_s

Crosby is indeed "moveless".

A little pwnage there.

[WingNutNorCal 0]

I wasted good dvr spot for this s***.

I second that.

I was a little disappointed in Ozzy's performance as well as Dat's "creativity"...he's 10x better than what he showed.

Oh well.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

I guess that real game shootouts are just about as creative as players need to get. We've seen plenty of great moves in shootouts over the last few years that make a contest like this meaningless. When someone tries to be fancy at the expense of not caring whether they score or not, it just makes things look unnatural.

[Guest Jeremy88]

Even though the whole show sucked...the worst part were the shootout cameras that followed the player...wtf was the NHL thinking there?

[JayUp88 1]

Even though the whole show sucked...the worst part were the shootout cameras that followed the player...wtf was the NHL thinking there?

I thought the cameras were cool. Once a year they get to do something cool like that and bring you different angles. I also liked seeing them take the shots without their hats on. reminded me of the old days.

Edited January 27, 2008 by JayUp88

[interminded 1]

Even though the whole show sucked...the worst part were the shootout cameras that followed the player...wtf was the NHL thinking there?

It wasn't that bad of an idea.

But to be honest, it didn't add something extra to the broadcast.

Seeing a player from behind is not a good view, action-wise.. (no pun intended..)

[Jwo 7]

I loved how Gary Bettman danced around those questions on when will Canada get another team and the Wings in the East.

[OsGOD 3]

So far so unimpressed... haha this will be a fun game

They do realize that hockey doesn't have a half-time...right? cause didn't seem so by reading those band shirts

Edited January 27, 2008 by OsGOD

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Game time!

[DaKineMaui 8]

Just watching these opening announcements for the game here.........can't seem to get the word '***' outta my head. Been looking for a more clever word......keeps coming back '***'.

Weird. Pretty sure the NHL marketing team has just up and quit.

aloha

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Sorry Rick haa

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Hopefully one of our guys will win the MVP.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

chanting osgood sucks.....real classy blueland

[Lidstromrules16 7]

They certainly need to pick up the tempo

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

chanting osgood sucks.....real classy blueland

Hey at least people in Atlanta are proving that they can actually name at least 1 hockey player in the league. I was impressed.

[zettermaberg 0]

chanting osgood sucks.....real classy blueland

came to comment on the same thing... isn't this an all-star game? where's the spirit of the game? and what's atlanta's vendetta against osgood? seems to me they're just parroting after other idiot fans around the league.

at any rate, to booing all stars - any of them.

[LeftWinger 4,963]

I loved how Gary Bettman danced around those questions on when will Canada get another team and the Wings in the East.

...he won't come out and say it, but Canadian teams don't make him (The NHL) any money, all players salaries are paid in American currency and ticket sales and paking and concessions are all paid for in Canadian currency, even though the two dollars are pretty close in value, you multiply them by millions and it adds up! Not to mention the taxes the owners hav to pay in Canada...

...concerning Detroit moving back east, well, everyone, including Gary, knows that the East is where Detroit belongs. Could you imagine the rivalries within a divsion comprised of Detroit - Montreal - Toronto - Buffalo & Ottawa? Sheesh! Talk about ratings! The problem is, you have one team in the West that has been pretty much the NHL's biggest money maker since around 1993. You take Detroit out of the West, who is left to watch? Gary won't come out and say his Western conference teams lack the abiltiy to attract fans, but it's Detroit that sells out the other teams arena's when they are there. You take that away and nobody has sellouts. Gary's not a hockey guy, he's a lawyer in charge of making the owners as much money as possible. Without Detroit in the West, the West falls...

...with that said, I tried to finds ticket to the Feb. 2nd Wings/Leafs game in Toronto, SHEESH!!! That thing sold out day 1 and you cannot find a ticket (let alone 4) for less than the price of a small mansion...