Canucks Army Roundtable: Hey Now You’re an All-Star

All-Star weekend is usually jam-packed with stuff. There’s so much to do and so much to see, so what’s wrong with taking the back streets? You’ll never know if you don’t go, you’ll never shine if you don’t glow. The All-Star weekend could use a little freshening up though, and the NHL has tried multiple things to make it happen. (RIP Fantasy Draft)

All that glitters is gold though, and only shooting stars break the mold. What idea would you use to break the mold? I asked our writers in this week’s roundtable.

If you could change one thing about All-Star weekend, what would it be?

If we’re talking about this weekend specifically, that purple jersey hurts my eyes so I would change that. It’s cool that they played on the Kings’ history but that purple one is not very nice at all. Luckily the Pacific is wearing black and those look sick.
With regards to the All-Star Weekend in general, I agree with Jackson that the fantasy draft should come back. It’s fun to watch and the players all poke fun at each other. It showcases the individual players rather than just noticing them during the brief roll call before the game.

I would bring back the breakaway competition. Without even a moment’s hesitation. To be frank, I can’t be bothered in general with the All-Star Game in general. There’s one moment I go out of my way to watch every year though, and that’s the one they’ve decided to remove for whatever reason. There isn’t a single moment in the entirety of the weekend that showcases the players personalities quite like it. For a sport so riddled with boring, vanilla personas throughout, that has huge value. Far as I’m concerned it does.

I would change/add one thing. When the NHL was locked out the very first time, there was an NHLPA 4 on 4 tournament.  After every game there was a shootout tournament as well with the finals happening in the playoff round of the actual event. You score, you go on. So basically the elimination goes on until its over. I think it would be cool to have a Shootout trophy like they do the HR derby in baseball.
Nothing major but they’ve already made it so different so this wouldn’t be a stretch.

I imagine a lot of people are going to say they’d bring back the breakaway challenge, which is the obvious choice. It was easily the best part of the skills competition, which was the best part of the weekend.

If I could only change one thing, though, I would bring back the fantasy draft. It was really funny, gave us a couple classic moments, and showcased the players’ personalities, which is something the NHL never does.

Watching Ovi lobby to get picked last and seeing Tyler Seguin get traded for Phil Kessel were both more memorable than any non-John Scott-related on-ice moment at the ASG since the lockout.

I’d bring back the Young Stars game. They only did it six times, from 2002-09, but it was fun seeing some of the NHL’s best and brightest young talents play a short but energetic game of hockey against each other. We could even use it as a way to keep Team North America and Team Europe alive! One of my favourite All-Star Game memories was the first YSG, when Ilya Kovalchuk scored six goals and made basically everyone around him look silly. Though, it would be nice if it had more Canucks in it than the old games did; only Alex Edler and Mason Raymond have ever represented Vancouver in the event.

The draft – It was awkward, it was bad, but it was memorable.

For me, the All-Star weekend has, for some time, been a welcome mid-season break from NHL hockey. The event is a showcase meant primarily for children – and as a kid, I loved it. I know it would never happen, but it would be fantastic to see a Canada vs. The World format similar to Rendez-Vous ’87 when the Canadians played the USSR in a two game series. That series produced some memorable hockey and delighted fans of the game of all ages. Essentially all of the top stars in the game would still be present – minus a player or two – and you have to believe that the World All-Stars would love to stick it to Canada, the country that has dominated best-on-best international hockey since 2002, losing only one of the last six events.

To me, the Skills Competition lacks a marquee event. In the MLB, that’s obviously the Home Run Derby, and the NBA has the 3pt contest and the Slam Dunk contest to hang their hat on. The NHL has the accuracy contest, and the hardest shot (which I guess is the marquee event) but not enough to get eyeballs on the screen. The Breakaway Challenge did that, and I admire what they are trying to do with the new event this year, I hope it sticks. Personally, selfishly, I’d love to see teams wear their actual jerseys in the game. The NBA used to do this, and the MLB still does. It’s an opportunity to see all the colours of the NHL in one spot. Basically, reverse the Skills/All-Star Game, and have the players wear the All-Star branded gear for the Skills Competition and their teams uniforms for the actual game. I know that won’t put eyeballs on the TV, but I’d sure watch.