This weekend the NHL All Stars take to the ice in Montreal for the 57th annual showcase of talent. The first game was played in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens on Canada's Thanksgiving Day – October 13, 1947. The NHL All-Stars defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs 4-3. Read that sentence again... STANLEY CUP CHAMPION MAPLE LEAFS... it even feels funny writing it.
Now before I start, I want to clarify something. I enjoy the NHL All Star Game. I enjoy the NHL All Star Skills Competition. I think it's a great weekend event to showcase the sport of hockey for everyone from the avid hockey fan, to the casual viewer. Now for my rant. First off, having the 'fans' vote for the NHL starters somewhat backfired on the NHL this season. A fan in Montreal wrote a script to automatically vote for players from the Canadiens. As a result, the entire staring line-up was Montreal Canadien players leaving the league leader Evgeni Malkin, and the 'face of the league' Sidney Crosby on the second string. Eventually, this script was blocked, and both Crosby and Malkin made it into the starting 6. (with the other 4 positions still held by Montreal players)
Now with the bad publicity the sport of hockey has received in regards to hot topics such as the NHL lockouts/insider gambling/and recent death as a result of a hockey fight in the minor leagues, I can understand that the NHL wants to have an All Star Game to show off the talent and class of it's current crop of players. If a player selected to play in the NHL All Star game is injured and unable to participate, the NHL as a rule in place that you must sit out for the next regular season game following the All Star break. I can understand the logic behind such a rule (to prevent players from taking this week off and rest/heal as opposed to acting as ambassadors for the sport), but what if a player is actually injured, and doesn't want to risk further injury to play in a meaningless game against the wishes of his employer? A prime example would be the two Detroit Red Wing players selected to play in the 2009 All Star Game. Both Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk (The captain and assistant captain of the Wings) were both injured in the last regular season game versus the Phoenix Coyotes. Both players left the game and did not return, and have opted to skip the festivities in Montreal this weekend. As a result, Gary Bettman (the commissioner of the National Hockey League) has announced that he will suspend both players for the next game immediately after the All Star game. In similar news, Sidney Crosby himself announced that he will withdrawal from playing this weekend, but will be in attendance in Montreal to watch the events and as a result, Gary didn't suspend Sid. Interesting rationale, but as a good friend of mine recently told me "Everyone is created equal. But some people are MORE equal than others." Another example of Gary's waffling would be looking at the NHL Young Stars game. (basically an All Star game for 1st and 2nd year players) Four players have withdrawn from the Young Stars game, and Gary has explained that the Young Stars game is optional, and therefore if players choose to rest, they are able to do so without punishment.
So from a Wing-nut perspective, Detroit won't have a single player representing the team this weekend (Mike Babcock is the assistant coach for the West) and when Lidstrom and Datsyuk were scratched, the league opted for Patrick Marleau and Stephane Robidas to replace them. Now I am actually a big Marleau supporter. I like the way he plays, and think he deserves to be an All Star. But with both Red Wing representatives missing due to injury, don't you think they should have looked to see if Detroit had anyone else worthy of playing? a few players come to mind... Rafalski? Franzen? HOSSA? Maybe I'm biased, but it seems like another situation where Gary Bettman is trying to make a name for himself.
So why is this a big deal? Because the Detroit Red Wings are scheduled to play the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first game following All Star weekend, and the winged wheel will be without the services of Lidstrom and Datsyuk, but in the visitors dressing room, the Blue Jackets will have Steve Mason in net. The Rookie net minder who has been stellar for Columbus this season, and despite being selected for the Young Stars game, he won't play due to injury. Thanks to Mr. Bettman, the Jackets goalie won't have to lose sleep about facing a shooter like this.- UPDATE Jan 26th, 2009-I was annoyed by this suspension thing, but a great blogger from the Abel to Yzerman blogs, posted some interesting options for the first game following the All Star Break. He blogged about some options for the Wings due to the fact they are short 2 players, and can't call up replacements due to salary cap limitations.He writes;
Here’s what’s been suggested and it’s not a bad idea.
Forfeit the frigging game. Forfeit it because it’s unnecessarily unsafe. This isn’t a case of two forwards getting hurt in the midst of a game. It’s a situation where the league knowingly placed ten other skaters at jeopardy by keeping two players out of the lineup without any possibility of replacement. Intent to injure. Hell. The Wings could legitimately sue the league.
Or how about this. This was suggested too. Dress Lidstrom. Dress Datsyuk. Or call up Leino and Haydar or Home Keys or Kindl. Call ‘em up, dress ‘em and skate them tomorrow night. Even if it takes us over Gary’s Cap.
In other words, tell Gary, the Wing haters, the elitist Montreal Canadien media to take this suspension and shove it right up their a$$es...if it’s not too much trouble.
And if whatever the Wings decide to do cost them two points, or a few million in fines, or their reputation in the eyes of the hypocritical league office? Too bad.
Oh, and to the the players who stood by Bettman’s side publicly? Like you Sid, ya little princess? You just wish you played for a GM with the balls to do what Kenny Holland did. And you wonder why Marian Hossa’s a Red Wing? Cry over that.
So, bottom line? Screw it. All you did Gary was piss off a bear who’d been sleeping the first three months of the season.
Exactly what we needed b!tch. Thanks in advance.
Hahaha... that's classic.
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