Another dagger wounded hockey's collective heartbeat Saturday when the NHL canceled another 96 total games through Dec. 14. Also out is the All-Star Game, scheduled for Jan. 27 in what was already going to be a depressing hockey atmosphere in Columbus with its Rick Nash-less roster lacking many recognizable names (though new Jacket Brandon Dubinsky's mustache should have its own reality show.)
But in reality, only Blue Jackets' fans who probably were looking forward to watching actual superstar players take the Nationwide Arena ice as the home team for once should be truly bummed out. Frankly, the All-Star Game wouldn't make much sense this season even if the lockout magically ended by this weekend. Like the Winter Classic, an All-Star Game played during a shortened or even condensed full schedule would seem inappropriate as surely the league will try and squeeze in as many games as the calendar would allow- again, presuming the players and owners/Gary Bettman actually find some common ground while seemingly remaking pre-Forrest Gump and pre-Big Tom Hanks movies with the same name but totally different plot. Both sides in this dispute probably don't deserve a low-intensity, glorified shootout that allows hockey to pat itself on the back (not to mention refuses to check or play defense).
So while getting rid of the All-Star Game at first glance further triggers doubt of a season taking place, the move actually should simplify the schedule logistics when/if a schedule of games is devised for what looks like at best a 50- or 60-game sprint towards Stanley. Losing one-game gimmicks like the Winter Classic and ASG hurts much less than wiping out blocks of regular-season games every couple weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment