JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Quick, who won last year’s NHL All-Star Game? No Wikipedia checking or anything. Do you know, off the top of your head, who won the 2011 NHL All-Star Game? No? I’ll get back to you on that.
Most of you reading this are too young to remember these days but let’s look back to the days at the NHL right after the addition to the second six to the Original Six.
The NHL did get national coverage in North America (CBC in Canada, CBS in the US) but, especially in the US, those games didn’t happen very often. A game of the week was about all you got.
So, a hockey fan in St. Louis, during the 1969-70 season, got to see a NHL great like Frank Mahovlich three times in person in a Canadiens jersey and once in the All-Star Game. Maybe a couple of more times than that on television. No more than that.
So, the All-Star Game was an added bonus. And, if you lived in one of the non-NHL cities in 1970 (like a Minneapolis or Denver), TV was it so the All-Star Game was the perfect opportunity to see the best play the best.
Today, it is much different. If you are a Canadiens’ fan living in Oklahoma City, it is likely that your cable company or satellite provider offers a complete season package, so you get to see your team all season. Plus, you can pretty much watch any game you want, when you want. So you get to see a Sidney Crosby or a Daniel Sedin on a regular basis.
You don’t need the all-star game to get a rare superstar fix. You can get that every night. That, in turn, devalues the specialness of the All-Star Game.
Hockey is not alone in this. Baseball’s all-star game used to be the most unique one out there. In most cases, the only time fans got to see players in the other league was the all-star game, because there was only one national game a week.
Now, in this age of free agent and multiple games on TV a night, there is nothing to look forward. That is why they play the all-star games these days with the league winning the game gets home field for the World Series.
The NBA all-star game is a talent showcase. They haven’t played defense in one all-star game since, likely, the 1970’s.
The NFL moved up the Pro Bowl to the week between the league championships and the Super Bowl, hoping they would get people to notice. When it was played after the Super Bowl, nobody noticed. The NFL season ends with the Super Bowl.
Give the NHL credit. Switching the format to a sandlot pick-em style is a good idea but the main charm of the game is to see players playing for (or against) other players they normally wouldn’t.
Is there an answer? Probably not. You could do like baseball and play a conference all-star game with the winner getting home ice in the Stanley Cup finals but even I don’t like that idea. North America versus the World? Been there, done that. The novelty of the game was worn off. Maybe the best way to enjoy is to outlaw any hitting and make it a offensive showcase, sort of a live version of Blades of Steel.
By the way, the 2011 All-Star Game? Team Lidstrom defeated Team Staal 11-10 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Contact Kenneth.Holdren@prohockeynews.com
