Fan In Van

East Versus West

Anyone seen the hockey movie Mystery Alaska? It’s the one with Russell Crowe and an Alaskan ice hockey team that plays out on a pond in the Arctic. In the movie, an ex-Alaskan turned New Yorker brings the Rangers to town for a game of pond hockey against the Alaskans. In the movie, the event is portrayed as a waste of time for the Rangers and a chore.

That’s kind of what the NHL’s All Star Game is shaping up to be.

With the All-Star rosters finally set, there’s some notable absences on this year’s edition. Among those not in the lineup are Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, Mike Richards, Marian Hossa, Henrik Zetterberg, Steve Mason and Miikka Kiprusoff. If someone could explain to me why Mike Komisarek, Mike Modano and Milan Hejduk have earned their spot in the All-Star Classic above anyone on that list, I’d love to hear it.

I know all about the NHL’s rule about having one player from every team to be in the Game, but let’s be honest, it’s called the “All-Star Game” for a reason. Mike Modano, who to this point has 26 points in 38 games, should not be in a game where the players are faster and have the hands of 20-year olds (Because they are 20-year olds). And Mike Komisarek has missed 16 games with an injury yet Habs fans voted him 763,000 times.

This is a testament to how much of a joke the All-Star Game has become over the years. Top NHL players must travel during a well-deserved break and put on a show while playing for virtually nothing. If the NHL wants to put some lustre back into the event, at least make it worth something.

A great idea was pitched in a Yahoo! Sports article a few days ago; play the game in Las Vegas, which is potentially a budding hockey market. Make the players play for a cash prize of some sort, something which makes the game a little more intense and a little less like a no-contact game of shinny. Or better yet, play East versus West and let the winner have home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Final.

Altogether, these ideas have been pitched many times over the last few years but has been given little thought. It’s time the NHL turn it’s attention to the failing status of its All-Star Game, an event that is supposed to attract and create hockey fans across North America.

Speaking of an event that creates hockey fans, one that would definitely make some noise is having the St. Louis Blues draft John Tavares at next June’s entry draft.

While it’s clear there are a handful of other teams in the East who certainly qualify for the Tavares sweepstakes, I think Tavares in Blue would be a huge shot in the arm for Missouri fans who haven’t had a winner in some time. Over the last half decade, Eastern Conference teams like Pittsburgh and Washington have drafted the Crosbys, Staals, Malkins, Ovechkins and Backstroms but outside of Chicago’s Kane-Toews combination have yet to see a player who can truly impact a game.

I see the St. Louis Blues in a similar situation the Penguins were not so long ago; they are stockpiling an embarrassing amount of riches: This is a squad that has Patrik Berglund, David Perron, T.J. Oshie, Brad Boyes, Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo, who at this point in time not exactly Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, but certainly have potential to do some damage in the near future. Adding a key centre like John Tavares would most definitely make the Blues a force to be reckoned with again.

As Canuck fans, we don’t get to play the Capitals or Penguins nearly as often as we’d like because of the fact the two teams are in the Eastern Conference. But playing a St. Louis Blues team with that kind of young talent would certainly bring some more excitement to a Western Conference which seemingly lacks the firepower of the East.