The NHL All-Star game is this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina and as an avid hockey fan, I really couldn't care less - and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.
Over the last 10-12 years, the All-Star game has become something of a joke. It's supposed to be a spectacle for the fans, and while it is fun to see the best players in the world on the same ice, it's far from entertaining hockey.
The players involved don't take it seriously, because they don't want to get hurt and they don't have any incentive. If the NHL wants to grow the game in the U.S., and it's pretty obvious they do, then make the game more entertaining. It's not rocket science; if watching best-on-best hockey doesn't intrigue the American fans, they're not going to buy into watching an everyday game.
To the NHL's credit, they have attempted to make it more interesting by changing the format in recent years. They've tried the North America vs. the World format, the East vs. West format, and now the "playground rules" format where two assigned captains pick their respective teams.
The problem is, the players always have, and will still treat it as a mean-nothing, fun exhibition game. It's time to make the game worth something.
How about taking a page out of Major League Baseball's book and going back to the East vs. West format, where the winning team gets home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup final? If you've seen the MLB All-Star game recently, you know it's a competitive contest and a blast to watch.
You could also stick with the format the NHL is using this year and give each player on the winning team a lucrative cash bonus. The benefits of this would be two-fold; players would actually want to play in the game, rather than skipping it because of "injuries" or "family issues" that only ever seem to come up during the All-Star break, and the players would be playing to win, not just out for a recreational skate.
One way or another, something needs to change because as it stands right now, the All-Star game is a joke.
