NHL Allstar Game

It's NHL All-Star weekend everyone! I'm a big fan of having the elite players come together and showcase the best that the NHL can offer. What I am not a fan of, is the current selection process that the NHL has.

The NHL has a Vote Now - Vote Often online voting system, and the flaws of that were demonstrated two years ago when a website, www.voteforrory.com had journeyman Rory Fitzpatrick (who was slotted in Vancouver's 7th d-man role) outpace Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Pronger in all-star voting. Another problem with the current system is that the ballot is based on performance in the previous year, and now J.S Giguere is the starting goalie for the western conference, when he has a 3.08 GAA (goals against average) which is hardly all-star like, and he is being out-performed by his back-up, Jonas Hillier who has a .930 save percentage, and a 2.06 GAA. The list of snubs this year is long, Scott Niedermayer who is a great hockey player, is a starter, but Dan Boyle is obviously having a better season, as is Sheldon Souray. Both were named as reserves, but 1 or both of them deserved a starting role. For goaltender, the person who should be starting is Niklas Backstrom. He has been everything for the Minnesota Wild this year, and has put up some insane numbers: 2.14 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Of the Wild's 23 wings, he has 19 of them.

Despite what is wrong with the NHL All-Star Game, I am still a supporter of it. All professional sports leagues have an all-star game, and it is important to show-off the very best of the best. It brings fans into the game and that is what matters most. My suggestion is to make a one vote per person rule, to avoid ballot stuffing. Enjoy the weekend readers!

Amos 13