Perfect storm of Scott saga, 3-on-3 made 2016 All-Star Game one of the best
The NHL tried so very hard to get it wrong. It went out of its way to make sure it would screw this up. But in the end, a minor-leaguer - and the last of a dying breed - in John Scott, a new three-on-three tournament format, and the city of Nashville made sure the league got it right.
All-Star Weekend was a smashing success. For a league that deals almost exclusively in bad publicity, that its annual showcase was a hit is hard to fathom, especially when you consider All-Star Games of the past, and the fact that Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Jonathan Toews weren't even there.
When the dust settles, though, 2016 All-Star Weekend will go down as 48 of the NHL's best and brightest hours.
3-on-3 forever
Three-on-three was made for the All-Star Game. The league's finally found a format that works, that showcases quality hockey and the game's elite players doing what they do best.
Hockey isn't hockey without physical play; it's ingrained in the game. Except when it's played three-on-three. There's simply too much room out there, too much time and space, to focus on taking the body. And that's why the format worked so well. At five-on-five, the All-Star Game was a snooze. The players simply got in each other's way. It was shinny, and it was boring.
At three-on-three, speed and creativity ruled. Players were skating, actually breaking a sweat. Hell, Patrice Bergeron couldn't stop backchecking. The tournament games were played at a high level, and the goaltenders put on an absolute clinic, frustrating shooters like they've done all season.
It was fast-paced, thrilling, entertaining hockey. At an All-Star Game. When's the last time you could say that? We even got a bodycheck, and a fight. The game had it all.
And it can get better next year, when the NHL should allow its voted-in captains to draft their teams.
Don't pinch John Scott
On Friday, Scott will be in St. John's, Newfoundland, preparing with his IceCaps teammates for an AHL game against the Utica Comets. Talk about coming down from a high.
But it was a high - literally, he was hoisted on the shoulders of the NHL's best players - he'll never forget. Scott, the winning Pacific Division's captain, who had five goals in 285 games to his name, scored twice Sunday. In one game. In one period. It was his first, and likely last, multi-goal game in the NHL. And it made for incredible viewing - especially his second goal, which was scored with an All-Star's aplomb.
It was the stuff of fairy tales. Of cinema. "You can't write it this way," the big man said. But you can. Scott did. By making sure he went to the All-Star Game, he put the onus on the NHL to let him play. And play he did, with the support of fans, his fellow players, and most of the hockey community.
In typical backwards NHL fashion, Scott brought the All-Star Game - usually an afterthought, especially in major American markets - almost unprecedented publicity. And the league, instead of using the Scott saga as an opportunity, did its best to make sure what happened over the weekend didn't happen at all.
The Arizona Coyotes, Scott's now-former team that went unrepresented at the game, come out as unquestioned losers after such a successful event. Scott's daughters, the reason he made sure to play in the game, were even wearing Coyotes jerseys. Arizona could have used this story.
But the Coyotes don't matter in this case. Neither does the NHL, and its almost shocking obliviousness. The NHL didn't deserve for the Scott story to play out the way it did. But, more importantly, Scott and his family did. Scott, above all, got to win. After the way he was treated, Sunday was the storybook ending he deserved.
Hockey's alive and well in Nashville
By all accounts, Nashville went above and beyond as host for this year's All-Star festivities. Already one of the United States' most underrated cities, the capital of Tennessee bolstered its reputation after a fun-filled weekend in which both the game and the city were celebrated.
Most impressive, though, was the display by Nashville hockey fans. Predators supporters stood up, not only for their own in Roman Josi, James Neal, Pekka Rinne, and Shea Weber, but for Scott. And even for Patrick Kane, the league's top scorer by a wide margin, who they booed wholeheartedly.
Scott was feted Saturday night at the Skills Competition, and Sunday during the tournament. When the league again showed its almost incredible tone deafness by announcing its All-Star Game MVP candidates without including Scott, Predators fans stepped up one more time.
Cheered when he touched the puck, and serenaded with MVP chants, Scott wasn't leaving Bridgestone Arena without that truck. Nashville's fans made sure of it. Somebody had to take the decision out of the NHL's hands.