The NHL All-Star Game lived up to my expectations in the worst possible way. All of the players were just drifting around; nobody was skating hard or putting any effort in. An example is that Tim Thomas from my very own Boston Bruins made a save and proceeded to hand the puck on a platter to the other team so that they could score on him. His heart clearly wasn't into the game, and he wasn't the only one. The game comprised entirely of odd-man rushes and hot potato passing in the offensive zone where the defense of both teams just stood there and let gifted offensive players do whatever they wished. It made for a great highlight reel, but the game itself was absolutely agitating to watch because someone was scoring every thirty seconds.The unwritten rule of the All-Star game is to not hit anybody in order to avoid injuries, and that makes the game essentially unwatchable for hardcore hockey fans like me. Hitting is the very core of hockey. When you take it out, all you have left is squirt-level hockey - the style of hockey I was playing when I was 10.
Don't get me wrong; I don't want to see any of my team's players get hurt in this circus of an event. It's for this reason that they should just get rid of it altogether. The NHL season is quite grueling with hardly any breaks as it is. The league's all-stars log the most time-on-ice for their respective teams so they need the time off more desperately than anyone else but they don't get it. There is so much hockey on every day of the week that I don't think fans would complain over four days off. If Commissioner Bettman doesn't get rid of the game, he should move the game to the end of the season like how the NFL Pro Bowl is scheduled so that injuries can be less of a concern. The last thing the NHL should do is try to add meaning to the game by giving it implications on the Stanley Cup finals as the MLB did to the World Series. I don't want to see Bruins players giving the Penguins home ice advantage or the other way around. Let the team with the better record throughout the season have home ice advantage because of their own accomplishments.
As for the media coverage of the event, I thought it was a redeeming touch that some of the players were mic'd up during the game. It was a unique privilege to hear their thoughts as the game was unfolding - something you don't see during any other game of the year. It worked well for the skaters, but it seemed to really distract the goalies. They would be talking with the announcers and then the play would come to their zone, and they were caught off guard multiple times. I also thought the introductions were over-the-top and unnecessary. It was far too many players for that kind of treatment and the feminine opening act that sung them in just made me feel uncomfortable. Sportscenter ran a minute-long highlight of the game but didn't do so until 40 minutes into the show. I consider it remarkable that they covered the game at all because ESPN hardly ever shows any hockey.
