by Justin Orlewicz (Sports Editor)
Email: cascade.sports@ufv.ca
Before we get to the breakout players of the season so far, I would like to address the new NHL all-star game format. I think this is the dumbest idea that the NHL has ever come up with; this has a recipe for disaster written all over it. We will end up seeing Sid vs. Ovi in the fifth version to date. First it was Sid vs. Ovi in the regular season; then they had a playoff series (Canada’s Sid the kid and his Penguins won it); then we would see Sid faceoff against Ovi on the international stage at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics; and now this year’s Winter Classic (which I will be attending) will feature Sid vs. Ovi at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA on New Years Day.
Now it will be an all-star game where Sid and Ovi will most likely be the two players that will be picked to select their respective all-star teams to square off in Carolina this year. I can already see Ovi selecting all his Russian and Washington Capital friends to make up the bulk of his team. Sid will most likely pick the better team because he is Sid the Kid and he’s Canadian, but where do we draw the line with this forced rivalry? This format also gives the fans less say in who plays in this game and who doesn’t.
I hope this will be the last time the NHL attempts something dumb like this, and it pains me that Brendan Shanahan was the one who masterminded this catastrophe. Maybe he is just the face that the NHL is using to sell this buffoonery to the devoted good hearted NHL fans – he is a trusted, hall-of-famer who has sold his soul to Gary Bettman. It is also a possibility that the people of Carolina are so stupid when it comes to hockey (despite a Stanley Cup victory) that this is the only way they can sell the all-star game to the undeserving fans of Raleigh, North Carolina.
The whole situation is still a mystery to me; I really don’t get why the NHL likes to tamper with a traditional event every decade or so. Remember when they did North America vs. the World? At least that format had some meaning behind it. It was essentially Canada and U.S.A. vs. Europe; who was the best? It was an experiment that had purpose, a failed experiment, but, regardless, it had some purpose. Until the puck actually drops at this all-star game, I will try to remain optimistic about this new format, but only because Brendan Shanahan is the mad scientist behind this mess. If it fails, I will hold him accountable, consider him a whore and never trust a word from his hall of fame mouth. Let’s chalk this up to another chapter of Sid vs. Ovi for now. The new all-star game format had me so mad that I ran out of room for my list of this years NHL established break out players. Next week. For more insider info on the NHL, AHL and CHL follow me on twitter @ JustinOrly.
