The NHL All-Star game is a bust, appealing to neither die-hard nor casual fans. Loyal fans turn their noses up at the game because it lacks the hitting and intensity of the real thing & because the game is meaningless. Newcomers to the game are unlikely to be drawn to something that looks more like the Ice Capades with sticks & a puck than a real hockey game.
The good news is that the mid-season classic can be rescued and turned into a true showcase that would excite both hockey aficionados and newbies alike. How? Easy - by scheduling a real game between the best teams in the league.
The NHL All-Star game should match up the East & West Conference leaders at the exact midpoint (41 game mark) of the season. This season that would mean a high-flying game between the Sabres & the Ducks.
This would not be an exhibition game - it would be a scheduled regular season match with real points on the line. In order to have the game the league would have to address another problem - namely the unbalanced schedule. Few tears will be shed (outside of the league's Atlantic division) when the league abandons current format, and there is growing evidence that change will come sooner rather than later.
To accomodate the proposed "League Leaders Showcase Game" the NHL's schedulers would simply have to ensure that each team in the East has at least one game against each team in West in the second half of the season. Once the 41-game mark is hit, the game between the two Conference leaders would be scheduled for the middle of the All-Star festivities. Shifting the game should not be a big deal - it would simply require that the league show the same marketing savvy the NFL has demonstrated with its "flex" schedule.
The game would be played in the city selected to host the All-Star festivities and the fact that the home team would (usually) not be involved should be more than made up for by the fact the game would showcase the league's best teams & provide a potential preview of the Stanley Cup final combatants. Revenue-sharing arrangements would have to be made to compensate for the loss of one home game by one of the two participating teams.
The game would be surrounded by events like the Skills Competition (and some new events suggested earlier by HockeyDirt) and the smoozing and boozing of the league's elite and corporate sponsors - the real business of the All-Star break. But by matching up the league's two best teams the NHL would be giving its fans something they want - a chance to watch a real hockey game between two great teams.
The NFL's flex schedule isn't about savvy, it's about having the power to tell the stadium folks, tv networks and fans "no, we've changed our mind, we're doing this now" and have everyone say "ok".
The NHL simply can't do that right now.
Good to hear they're changing the schedule. There aren't nearly enough Devils-Wild games right now.
Posted by: David | January 22, 2007 at 08:01 PM
I don't see it as a problem with the all-star game. The NBA's all-star game is a joke too, with players running around dazzling the crowd with no defense being played. The baseball version has nothing on the line either and yet people turn up to see the league's best players, whether they're battling nose to the grindstone or not.
It's the same problem we've had since Gretzky first hit LA, few markets south of the Canadian-US border care about the game enough to fill rinks. That includes the All-Star game and matches that include first-place teams like Nashville.
I doubt changing the all-star game is going to attract more interest in the NHL. A game involving the Ducks and Sabres? That would be good hockey but hardly two franchises that will have most of North America tuning in to watch.
Posted by: outburst | January 23, 2007 at 05:18 AM