20 replies to this topic

[MCleveland89]

Puck Daddy

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will miss Tuesday night's game against the Nashville Predators with a left arm injury, traced back to a slash from Florida defenseman Erik Gudbranson on Friday. His coach Joel Quenneville said Toews was "unlikely" to participate in the NHL All-Star Game this weekend in Ottawa. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on Monday night that Toews has been ruled out of the game.

Alas, no defending his shot accuracy title in 2012, which he won in that controversial "do over" in Raleigh last year. (As controversial as a skills competition can get.)

Who replaces Toews? The warring factions of Team Scott Hartnell and Team James Neal are already preparing for their "Gangs of New York"-style brawl. (Team Loui Eriksson awaits word on Jamie Benn.)

Will the NHL follow suit as they did to Lidstrom and Datsyuk?

[wingsdiehard13]

Lidstrom and Pavel were suspended because it was required that they missed either (or both) of the games before or after the ASG. Toews will miss one, so no.

[skyphoenix]

Ovechkin is eligible for the all star game despite his suspension and he's expected not to go and not get suspended.

[toby91_ca]

The issue is if a player is going to miss the game because of injury, he should be injured. If they only miss the all star game, but play the other games, then are they really injured? Toews is missing regular season games here, completely different than the Lidstrom issue a few years back.

I can understand the league's views on this....they use the game as a way to advertise the league, they want the best players there. However, they have seemed to ease up on the suspension issue in the last few years (i.e. allowing players to ask not to be named behind the scenes to avoid the issue).

I haven't heard the Ovechkin stuff though, seems odd.

[Tim.D]

He's been placed on IR, Hartnell to take spot.

[MCleveland89]

Yeah, it looks like the Hawks jumped on this pretty fast. Toews should be good now then.

[Ram]

Ovechkin is eligible for the all star game despite his suspension and he's expected not to go and not get suspended.

Ovi indeed pulls out - he apparently said "He doesn't deserve to be there as a suspended player."

My link

Good thing the game is in Ottawa and people are into hockey enough there to not care as opposed to a US city where Ovechkin and Toews are major pulls and detract from the end all be all for the NHL - ratings and attendance.

[RusDRW]

Hartnell is an all-star? Give me a break... We'll finally see someone like Rory Fitzpatrick making all-stars game.

[commadore183]

From what I remember of the Lidstrom/Datsyuk controversy, the rule at the time stated that a player had to miss either the game before or the game after the All-Star game if the player decides to not play in the All-Star game. As far as I knew, Lidstrom and Datsyuk (and Holland) were willing to sit out the game after the All-Star events. Then, Crosby announced that he was going to miss the All-Star activities due to an injury. The league then proceeded to change the rule so that you only had to attend the All-Star festivities to avoid a suspension by the league, a change that allowed Crosby to still attend the pomp and circumstances of the All-Star events, but not play in the actual game, so he escaped suspension. However, by the time the "reinterpretation" of the rule was announced, Datsyuk and Lidstrom were already out of the country and, thus, would not be able to attend the festivities.

To recap:
1) rule originally was "had to play in the ASG or skip game before/after or get suspended",
2) Datsyuk and Lidstrom announced they were skipping the ASG and will miss the game after,
3) Crosby announced he would skip the ASG,
4) rule suddenly reinterpreted as "had to attend AS festivities or skip game before/after or get suspended",
5) rule reinterpretation came too late for Datsyuk and Lidstrom, who were out of the country and unavailable,
6) Crosby was able to attend the festivities and avoid suspension/missing the next game,
7) Datsyuk and Lidstrom were forced to sit the game after the ASG, thus the s*** fit on LGW.

As far as I know, the rule is still "attend festivities or sit a game", unless they changed the rule again. However, as Toews will be missing the game before the ASG, he would not be suspended under any of the two interpretation of the rule.

[Heroes of Hockeytown]

^^^
More or less how I remember events. The "had to miss a game to prove injury excuse" was bulls*** anyways because Pavel was injured in the third period of the Wings' last game before the break, against Phoenix. He missed most of the third period when it was close (can't remember if it was tied or one goal difference) which is all the proof necessary. It's not like they would have benched him and risked the two points (which, in his absence, they didn't get anyways) just so he could duck the ASG. It was stupid politics and the guys that made that decision deserved to be slapped.

Worse still, that Crosby was being held up as an example when the only other thing he had to do that weekend was play Xbox in Mario's basement, as opposed to Pav and Nick, two grown ass men with families and vacation plans already made.

Edited by Heroes of Hockeytown, 24 January 2012 - 03:51 PM.

[wingslogo19]

Nope, Toews is hurt and has been placed on the IR

[akustyk]

to be honest, with Ovechkin's decision it looks more and more like "Datsyuk and Lidstrom was 2009, we don't want to do this anymore".

frankly, as a Wings fan, I do feel cheated on this one. apparently, the league can hit Wings players with consequences, yet others have green light to do practically the same.
and yes, I understand the rules. but it doesn't look much different. especially in case of Ovechkin. he's free to go and opts by his own choice to not do it. it's his right, but I'd like the league to suck it up and admit what was done to Datsyuk and Lidstrom was not really fair.

[akustyk]

Hartnell is an all-star? Give me a break... We'll finally see someone like Rory Fitzpatrick making all-stars game.

I'm actually wondering how is it, that Hartnell hasn't yet made it to the All Star Game before. he's Flyers workhorse
and one of the hardest working guys in the NHL. He belongs to this game more than a good number of other
choices.

not that I cared about ASG anyway, just to make a point, that this very guy deserves this nomination like few other
in this league...

[MCleveland89]

to be honest, with Ovechkin's decision it looks more and more like "Datsyuk and Lidstrom was 2009, we don't want to do this anymore".

frankly, as a Wings fan, I do feel cheated on this one. apparently, the league can hit Wings players with consequences, yet others have green light to do practically the same.
and yes, I understand the rules. but it doesn't look much different. especially in case of Ovechkin. he's free to go and opts by his own choice to not do it. it's his right, but I'd like the league to suck it up and admit what was done to Datsyuk and Lidstrom was not really fair.

That's what irks me and prompted me to start this topic. This league's favoritism is ridiculous.

[softshoes]

This smacks of Ovie giving the finger to the league for suspending him for 3 games. I expect this from him though.

[13dangledangle]

My thoughts are Toews shouldnt have to go and not get suspended do to the rule book. Ovie should go and if he doesnt then get suspended, does it say somewhere a suspended player gets a choice to take part or not to? Ive just seen that a suspended player is eligible to take part. Plus the amount he says "I'm suspended" in this article is f*cked...

...My fav quote: "My heart is not there. I am suspended, so why I have to go there? I love the game. It is a great event. I love to be there. I am suspended. I don't want to be a target. I feel like I'm not deserving to be there right now because I am suspended." -Alexander the gr8t

[DyingAlive]

Hartnell is an all-star? Give me a break... We'll finally see someone like Rory Fitzpatrick making all-stars game.

Have you been following the NHL other than the Wings?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLSASAll&sort=goals&viewName=summary

He deserves to be in the ASG

[Drake_Marcus]

I wonder if the recent trend of Red Wings stars opting out of the All-Star game is starting to have an effect on how players think of the game. Does anyone remember notable opt outs for rest without a significant injury before Lids and Dats pissed Bettman off that year? Rafalski also oped out of being an injury replacement a few years ago.

If you combine the silly fan balloting choices we've seen (for example the year Montreal fans spam voted 4 of their players onto the Eastern team's starting 6) with well-regarded guys like Lidstrom opting out of the game, it seems plausible that NHL players aren't putting much stock in the act of going to the All-Star game anymore. That has to be a burr in Bettman's saddle. If national writers picked up on it I wouldn't be surprised to see the penalties being handed out for absences again.

[Red Wings Addict]

You know what the Wings should do for every all-star game? Send Hudler in their stead.

[jfranzen]

This smacks of Ovie giving the finger to the league for suspending him for 3 games. I expect this from him though.

This is what I got from it.