Let me start off by saying, the NHL asked for Montreal fans to beat the system, and they did.
What a complete and total joke. Let's take a look at the numbers, shall we?
Sydeny Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both deserve to be starters. Malkin leads the NHL in points and assists and Crosby is the league's coverboy, ok fine. What about Alex Ovechkin? He is second in the league in points and leads the league with 27 goals--but he won't be a starter. Instead, Habs forward Alexei Kovalev will start up front with Crosby and Malkin. Granted, he's the designated sniper for Montreal, but Ovechkin more than belongs up there in his place.
Andrei Markov and Mike "Owned by Milan Lucic" Komisarek will start on the blue line with Carey Price in net. Count 'em, 4 Canadiens starting on their home ice for the All-Star Game.
How did this happen?
The NHL thought it was doing itself a favor by allowing the fans to be selective. What they didn't realize was that of course Montreal fans would go nuts at the thought of the entire Eastern Conference starting six donning the bleu, blanc et rouge. There should have been some sort of filter allowing a certain number of votes per fan's e-mail address, such as Major League Baseball does for their All-Star balloting. That way, it's (supposedly) much tougher to crack the security and stuff the ballot boxes.
The Eastern Conference wasn't the only side effected, their Western counterparts saw the same phenomenon occur. Fans will be treated to 3 Ducks and 3 Blackhawks at the opening faceoff come All-Star Eve. A grand total of 4 teams will be represented for the game's first shift. That completely takes away the fun it! People watch All-Star games to see the best players in the league. In a recovering league such as the NHL, they should have thought of a way to prevent this lack of diversity.
And now for the big finish. Here is who I think should be starting in the All-Star Game for both sides based on careful consideration and comparing stats:
Eastern Conference
C - Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins
LW - Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals
RW - Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
RD - Andrei Markov Montreal Canadiens
LD - Zdeno Chara Boston Bruins
G - Tim Thomas Boston Bruins
Western Conference
C - Joe Thornton San Jose Sharks
LW - Jerome Iginla Calgary Flames
RW - Ryan Getzlaf Anaheim Ducks
LD - Dan Boyle San Jose Sharks
RD - Shea Weber Nashville Predators
G - Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary Flames
Only in a perfect world, but give me a better starting 12 than that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment