The all star game is about getting to know the players and having fun, not a hockey game. It's the same as the pro bowl. All yourself, do you really want Gio and Johnny taking a hit from Getzlaf, Kopitar, Weber, etc? Do you want them to block shots from Weber? Cross checks from standing on front of the net? Most players pay banged up throughout the year. How many teams are going to want to send their best player to an event where they could get hurt when they could be banged up anyways.
This is what the all star game is. Lots and lots of people are saying wow. They interviewed people there taking it in yesterday and they all did (XM Radio). I'm not sure what you want. If you want players to play hard, you simply aren't going to get it.
The NFL Pro Bowl was on tonight as well. It is quite a bit different. The players actually seem to care about the game and about winning. They play hard and with intensity. It actually didn't appear to be that much different from a regular game.
Of course the timing of the Pro Bowl is much different in that they play it at the end of the season.
The NFL Pro Bowl was on tonight as well. It is quite a bit different. The players actually seem to care about the game and about winning. They play hard and with intensity. It actually didn't appear to be that much different from a regular game.
Of course the timing of the Pro Bowl is much different in that they play it at the end of the season.
The players in the Pro Bowl get paid. $55000 if their team wins and $33000(IIRC). So that probably plays a part in it. Even though that's just a drop in the bucket for what the majority of those guys make, money is motivation.
Why did they ever get rid of the Young Stars game? That event should be brought back.
The Breakaway Challenge has potential, but I think judges need to be around so players are going to actually be creative and show off talent. Otherwise it's pointless to continue on with. Considering it's been a few years since the last one though, perhaps it'll be a better effort next year. If I recall correctly, the recent previous attempts were somewhat decent, but still room for improvement.
Don't they already get 5 days off during Christmas with strict rules against practicing and traveling? Isn't that good enough?
They can't travel or practice from the 24th-26th. That's hardly recovery or family time. It's a perfect opportunity for the NHL to make the Winter Classic relevant again. No games from the 24th to 31st, and have the Winter Classic restart play.
IMO if the all-star week is "for the fans" why not just give the players the time off to go and interact with their playing city/area. Call it fan appreciation week. Have a draw for STHs where the winners can play a game of shinny with the players. Send the players out to the greater city areas to meet those fans. Have numerous autograph events within the city. Just spit balling, but to me that would be more rewarding every year as a fan and I think players would enjoy it more.
IMO if the all-star week is "for the fans" why not just give the players the time off to go and interact with their playing city/area. Call it fan appreciation week. Have a draw for STHs where the winners can play a game of shinny with the players. Send the players out to the greater city areas to meet those fans. Have numerous autograph events within the city. Just spit balling, but to me that would be more rewarding every year as a fan and I think players would enjoy it more.
Because the NHL doesn't make enough money with this suggestion.
Maybe the reason the Slam Dunk Contest works and the breakaway challenge doesn't is that the Slam Dunk Contest has judging? Perhaps we won't see Tarasenko sliding it in from a distance on a blindfolded goalie if he knows Wayne Greztky is going to be holding up a 2/10 if he does.
If they went the judge route you'd need guys who wernt afraid to give a 2. Make sure these guys actually judge what is deserved and not the easy PC vote. Also give the shooters time to prepare. I think it has potential just don't let it get gimmicky where props outweigh the actual play. Would also help to add incentive. Every player is playing for a charity or a specific deserving individual. The main difference with the NBA dunk contest is that it actually means something to win. It has a long history. The way the NHL has it set up guys just do whatever comes to mind and don't really care about the result. Definitely none of the same passion you see with the dunk comp. That all has to start somewhere though.
There's a simple way to make the shootout competition better: prize money. Something that will actually capture the players attention. Say $250,000 to the winner would make for great television. Offer the goalies $5,000 per save and suddenly they'll care as well. Ban shooting so that the players actually have to deke to score.
Watching Datsyuk duel Price or Kane streak in on Rask with both actually trying would be a spectacle. Stop the days of Tarasenko passing the puck in on a blindfolded goalie. Are either of their skills really on display when he does this? Do fans want to watch Ovechkin in sun glasses and a beach hat or swing wildly at pucks like Ryan Howard does a changeup?
Is the ASG even that big of a cash generator? Legitimately curious here.
Here's the pricing information for this year's game...
Each ticket was good for entrance to both the skills competition and the All Star game itself.
The game's official attendance was 18,901. Assuming all tickets were sold out at full price, and half were at the higher price and half were at the lower price, the weekend would have generated over $4.3 million.
Some tickets would have been comped, so the exact dollar amount is tough to know, but it's probably close to that. Most of the comped tickets would have gone to the sponsors, so they would have made more money from them than the price of a few free tickets.
They would have also sold quite a bit of ASG specific merchandise over the weekend.
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Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
IMO if the all-star week is "for the fans" why not just give the players the time off to go and interact with their playing city/area. Call it fan appreciation week. Have a draw for STHs where the winners can play a game of shinny with the players. Send the players out to the greater city areas to meet those fans. Have numerous autograph events within the city. Just spit balling, but to me that would be more rewarding every year as a fan and I think players would enjoy it more.
Since the ASG weekend is interpreted by most players not involved as a mid-season vacation, I seriously doubt it.
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Originally Posted by Dagger
There's a simple way to make the shootout competition better: prize money. Something that will actually capture the players attention. Say $250,000 to the winner would make for great television. Offer the goalies $5,000 per save and suddenly they'll care as well. Ban shooting so that the players actually have to deke to score.
This has the potential to make it a great event, but the dollar figure is not realistic, nor is the mandate to "ban shooting." Perhaps alternatively restrictions could be set on taking shots from only past the hashmarks.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
Here's the pricing information for this year's game...
Each ticket was good for entrance to both the skills competition and the All Star game itself.
The game's official attendance was 18,901. Assuming all tickets were sold out at full price, and half were at the higher price and half were at the lower price, the weekend would have generated over $4.3 million.
Some tickets would have been comped, so the exact dollar amount is tough to know, but it's probably close to that. Most of the comped tickets would have gone to the sponsors, so they would have made more money from them than the price of a few free tickets.
They would have also sold quite a bit of ASG specific merchandise over the weekend.
Since it is a corporate schmooze, I would expect that the NHL also brokers a lot of high value deals with sponsors and such during the ASG weekend.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
One consideration you need to make with winning a prize is that it may take away from the creativity. I think you need to make that the motivating factor. So maybe have judges scoring on creativity and give the actual goal a value as well. Might not be the perfect set up but I think the creativity should be rewarded most because that's what we all want to see. A deke or move we haven't seen before or at minimum not something run of the mill. Your standard through the legs shot is about as exciting as a slap shot these days. Been done too many times.
Since the ASG weekend is interpreted by most players not involved as a mid-season vacation, I seriously doubt it.
Regular players have 4 days off for the break. Giving them a week with no practices, and relatively minor community commitments is something I doubt they'll be upset about. Furthermore, I'm sure the usual all stars will find it preferable to flying across the country.
Quote:
This has the potential to make it a great event, but the dollar figure is not realistic, nor is the mandate to "ban shooting." Perhaps alternatively restrictions could be set on taking shots from only past the hashmarks.
The figures are flexible. It just needs to be enough to capture the players' attention. I'm sure they could find sponsorship money that would cover most if not all of it. The important thing here is that the players would actually have enough incentive to win. Ask Lexus to donate a car, do whatever. Get their attention.
Your shooting proposal makes more sense though. Banning shooting entirely would negate the effectiveness of some moves.
One consideration you need to make with winning a prize is that it may take away from the creativity. I think you need to make that the motivating factor. So maybe have judges scoring on creativity and give the actual goal a value as well. Might not be the perfect set up but I think the creativity should be rewarded most because that's what we all want to see. A deke or move we haven't seen before or at minimum not something run of the mill. Your standard through the legs shot is about as exciting as a slap shot these days. Been done too many times.
Look at the dunk contest in the NBA. Over the years the contest became less and less creative. It became a gimmick fest with 1-2 new dunks every year. The shootout challenge is going down the exact same path now.
Centering the contest on scoring, with parameters set to encourage highlight reel dekes is about the best you can do with this. Having Toews, Kane, Datsyuk, Malkin, Crosby or whoever all going head to head for big charity money against the games best goaltenders will actually be entertaining.
Shootouts are an awful way to decide a game but they are exciting. Bring that excitement front and centre with the games best players. It's a winning formula.
I hope Johnny does it at his next all-star game. This would be the Youtube moment the NHL is looking for.
He needs to engineer a hockey stick like an Olympic torch with flames shooting out of the bottom. This will invent a new extreme version of hockey with all players playing with their stick on fire. This will known as the game called "Johnny HockeyTM". The trademark makes sense now...
