John Scott voted All Star Captain.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Maybe now the NHL will take the initiative to reduce the impact the consumers have on player selection so this doesn't happen again

Oh yeah, because the thousands of people going online to vote (either for Scott or to combat Scott), the discussion generated by John Scott leading the vote, and the people tuning in just to see their 'trolling' that otherwise wouldn't have watched (or known about) the All-Star game isn't exactly what the NHL wanted.


The NHL has no problem with what happened, they love it. 99.9% of the people who were going to watch the All-Star game without Scott will watch it with Scott. Now there's an extra group of people who will watch it just to tune into Scott and because they heard about it from talking about the vote in the first place.

[JohnnyB]

How on earth are some people so upset about a player selection for the all-star game? Nobody should get worked up about an all-star game. It's just for fun. Count me in support of silliness.

[killer_carlson]

I do not find hockey players skating at 1/4 pace to be very exciting, regardless of who it is.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Oh yeah, because the thousands of people going online to vote (either for Scott or to combat Scott), the discussion generated by John Scott leading the vote, and the people tuning in just to see their 'trolling' that otherwise wouldn't have watched (or known about) the All-Star game isn't exactly what the NHL wanted.

I beg to differ that those who voted John Scott in would've watch the All-Star game with, or without him. I don't believe there's any gain for the NHL in having him there. If anything, they may have more to lose since there's already a group of hockey purists that dislike the All-Star game, and this will discourage them even more from watching it. Don't think it would be much though though, again, if any. Those who were going to watch the game are going to watch it anyway. It would be the quality of play that should bring more viewers, which has been an issue.

[GirlySports]

obviously the hockey purists should have won the vote.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Joborule

I don't believe there's any gain for the NHL in having him there.

I disagree. There's still a significant amount of buzz about having him voted in. I mean about as much as you can get people to care about the NHL All-Star game in the first place. There's discussion, it's water cooler talk and the NHL wanted to people to get online to vote. Whether it was the 1.5M votes for Girgensons from Latvia last year, or the Fitzpatrick joke-campaign in 2007, these fan-votes have been going on for a decade now and the NHL is, maybe not actively but certainly passively, encouraging it.

Originally Posted by Joborule

It would be the quality of play that should bring more viewers, which has been an issue.

It's an All-Star game, you wont get that quality of play when players aren't going 100% anyways.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Why? I mean... if you're not going to let the fans vote on who get's in just don't let the fans vote on who get's in. Why put up some pretense about it?

The All-Star game sucks, it's a meaningless hockey game with zero stakes that no one takes seriously because it's not serious... why should the method of selecting some of them be any any less dumb then the game itself.

Except they would, but from a smaller, exclusively selected group of players. If the fans decided they liked Klingberg over Brodie, then that would be a much more tenable (although disappointing) situation.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Hockey fans won't find it entertaining. If you're a ln actual hockey fan and want to see the best, most skills players in the world do you really think you want to see Scott? I think gimmick fans will be entertained, ones who want to laugh and see something that's "cool for the sake of being cool" will like it but if you're an actual fan of skilled hockey, this is an insult. So sure, some will find it entertaining but will thy find it entertaining for the reason it's supposed to be? It's and NHL All Star game, Scott isn't even in the NHL let alone an all star...but I'm sure if they let a bunch of maximum security prisoners play hockey, people would watch that too... I guess glorifying someone who's constantly breaking the rules and hurting people is more important than sending actual all stars to the all star game.

Are you really whining about "gimmicks" while trying to defend the ... honour? ... of a contrived three on three mini-tournament in an exhibition contest that is already notorious for barely resembling hockey in the first place? That is some next level cognitive dissonance there.

[GirlySports]

olympics = skilled hockey
all star game = a hoot

[PepsiFree]

The whole joke/skill game debate is silly.

It IS just for fun. It's for kids, for advertisers, for fans who want to see high-flying offensive spectacles. It's not meant to be taken as a competition with serious implications but it's not meant to be laughable.

What you have to ask yourself is: Considering who the all-star game is for, does John Scott positively or negatively impact the game? He's not offensively unique, no kid wants his jersey, advertisers don't care about him.

Personally, if I thought the all-star game was a pointless joke, I certainly wouldn't try to vote someone in or care enough to debate it and tell others they shouldn't feel how they feel about it.

[calumniate]

Can't wait to see a John Scott spinorama

[Crumpy-Gunt]

screen shots

Probably the 3rd meme I've ever made. Couldn't resist.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

The whole joke/skill game debate is silly.

It IS just for fun. It's for kids, for advertisers, for fans who want to see high-flying offensive spectacles. It's not meant to be taken as a competition with serious implications but it's not meant to be laughable.

What you have to ask yourself is: Considering who the all-star game is for, does John Scott positively or negatively impact the game? He's not offensively unique, no kid wants his jersey, advertisers don't care about him.

Personally, if I thought the all-star game was a pointless joke, I certainly wouldn't try to vote someone in or care enough to debate it and tell others they shouldn't feel how they feel about it.

Totally agree with the above but the NHL has let the all-star game go beyond a pointless joke. Fans now are actually wrecking it which doesn't mean the fans are wrong, it means the league has lost it's way. It's a protest vote.

After the Fitzpatrick vote, many fans of other sports could have copied and voted an 11th man scrub into the NBA all-star game. But they didn't because even they thought it was so stupid.

[powderjunkie]

IF you want to restrict players eligible for vote, it's quite simply done through TOI (top 3 D and top 6 F, or top 4 D and top 9 F per team). But I don't really care - put me in the camp of people that would have probably tuned in briefly to check out Johnny in 3 on 3, but will now definitely be tuning it to see Scott.

There would be no good way to implement this, but it would be cool if each of the other divisions took on an alumni player (perhaps this year making it a 'tough guy', allowing the Pacific to have it's full slate of true All Stars. Those guys would each only take a few shifts per period/game, and the coaches would probably make it happen at the same time. Too bad Nashville doesn't have any true legends (as the home team would obviously have an alum - would be fun to see Kariya out there, but maybe Arnott would fill the 'grit' role there.

Tie Domi out there in a Leafs uni to play a few shifts against his son. No obvious pick for the metro...so just throw Roenick out there for entertainment.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Totally agree with the above but the NHL has let the all-star game go beyond a pointless joke. Fans now are actually wrecking it which doesn't mean the fans are wrong, it means the league has lost it's way. It's a protest vote.

The players have treated the ASG like a joke for years - so much so that the NHL tried suspending players who decided to simply pass on it entirely. This year, the league has itself embraced the joke by going to 3 on 3. The fans, in turn, are treating it with the same level of reverence and respect as the league and players are.

After the Fitzpatrick vote, many fans of other sports could have copied and voted an 11th man scrub into the NBA all-star game. But they didn't because even they thought it was so stupid.

I'm sure NBA fans will copycat soon enough. Baseball's vote this past season was a complete gong show. So much so that MLB unilaterally threw out over 50 million votes (or more) just to stop Kansas City from voting a Royals player to every spot in the starting line-up.

[Buff]

I was planning on watching to see how it works out with the 3 on 3 format. The inclusion of John Scott is just silly. Not sure if I like it. If it was still 5 on 5 I wouldn't be tuning in because I haven't for a couple of years now, but I would have been claiming it was because of the voting.

I bet Scott's team mates will try their hardest to get him a tonne of points. I'd love to see the reaction of Scott sets a record for points.

[nfotiu]

I'm not really getting the novelty factor here that would make people want to see this. Even though he is a fringe nhler, he is a professional hockey player and isn't going to really look that foolish out there. If they voted in Tom Brady or Lebron James, then maybe I'd get the attraction.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

The players have treated the ASG like a joke for years - so much so that the NHL tried suspending players who decided to simply pass on it entirely. This year, the league has itself embraced the joke by going to 3 on 3. The fans, in turn, are treating it with the same level of reverence and respect as the league and players are.



I'm sure NBA fans will copycat soon enough. Baseball's vote this past season was a complete gong show. So much so that MLB unilaterally threw out over 50 million votes (or more) just to stop Kansas City from voting a Royals player to every spot in the starting line-up.

I'm not sure that's a bad thing though having a fanbase vote an entire team in. It created the Donaldson counter-attack where Canadians voted him in. It makes more fans interested. I mean how can a small market like Kansas City outdo other bigger cities.

NBA fans love their stars and their 175-173 all-star game. They love seeing that spectacle, they are not going to vote in a scrub to ruin it. They are going to vote Kobe in this year as it's his last. Currently Curry and LeBron lead the voting which is correct.

[Benched]

normally I'd applaud the trolling of this joke of a game...like, no one cares. at all.

but

...for once, I was excited to see the 3on3 format mini-tournament and see how that worked out. That it MIGHT actually be interesting. Was also excited to see Johnny get the credit he is due at being Mr. 3on3, being team captain. Instead the troll job loses him the spotlight and makes a mockery of the NHL, not the all-star game, them for allowing randoms to ruin swing the vote.

Last year it was Girgenson and before that the 'all Chicago vote' was equally annoying. But who cares, it was the horrible all-star game. So this isn't new, just the new 3on3 format is, and I thought might ACTUALLY breath fresh air into a joke of an event.

That's the reason I'm upset. That and for Johnny Hockey, Captain Pacific

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Benched

normally I'd applaud the trolling of this joke of a game...like, no one cares. at all.

but

...for once, I was excited to see the 3on3 format mini-tournament and see how that worked out. That it MIGHT actually be interesting. Was also excited to see Johnny get the credit he is due at being Mr. 3on3, being team captain. Instead the troll job loses him the spotlight and makes a mockery of the NHL, not the all-star game, them for allowing randoms to ruin swing the vote.

Last year it was Girgenson and before that the 'all Chicago vote' was equally annoying. But who cares, it was the horrible all-star game. So this isn't new, just the new 3on3 format is, and I thought might ACTUALLY breath fresh air into a joke of an event.

That's the reason I'm upset. That and for Johnny Hockey, Captain Pacific

It's still a silly format. The all-star game should have never changed. I think going to NA vs World to promote the Olympics was the beginning of the end.

I'm in the minority but the NHL going to Olympics has ruined a lot of things for very little payback.