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All-Star Game an exercise in exclusion
What is an all-star game? Hardly a question of significant magnitude, yet in the world of sport, it seems to spark much debate. Showcase for a league? Tip of the hat to veterans for years of service? Event to generate excitement in new markets? Or is an all-star game supposed to be an acknowledgement of fine first-half performances? The answer is yes on all counts. Which is exactly the dilemma for the NHL as the league prepares for its Feb. 4 gala in Denver -- too many competing agendas. Let's summarize, shall we? First, we'll see two first-year goalies -- Evgeni Nabokov and Roman Cechmanek -- but not three. Unlike Team Europe, the North Americans gave the benefit of the doubt to veteran Martin Brodeur, selecting him although his season numbers are off his career pace. That means no rookie Brent Johnson -- the top-rated netminder thus far in the NHL. Team Europe used exactly the opposite selection criteria, affording Olaf Kolzig none of the "hockey love" shown Brodeur. Instead of "Ollie the Goalie," the awkward and hardly awe-inspiring Cechmanek suits up, making a spectator of last season's Vezina trophy recipient. Team North America likewise deferred to experience in selecting blueliners. Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, Rob Blake and Brian Leetch round out the defense and truly represent the old guard of NHL rearguards. Not that the senior crew isn't deserving -- it just means that there is still no room for 20-something up-and-comers Ed Jovanovski and Wade Redden. Unless, of course, one of those two is added to replace selected starter Chris Pronger, now that Pronger is slated to miss six weeks of action due to knee surgery. Regardless, the N.A. situation is far better than that of the Europeans when it comes to all-star defensemen; where the Colorado voting bloc skewed the ballot in favor of underachieving and undeserving Sandis Ozolinsh. The fans of his former team in Colorado obviously miss Ozolinsh more than his current team in Carolina, since the Hurricanes recently went on a nine-game unbeaten run with Ozolinsh out of the lineup. Additionally, unheralded backliner Marcus Ragnarsson beat out newcomer Lubomir Vishnovski of the Kings, stalwart Jyrki Lumme and the irascible Darius Kasparaitis, not to mention the Kaberle brothers, or the too-easily-taken-for-granted Calle Johansson of the Capitals. Now, fans of the Sharks will no doubt tout Ragnarsson's play, which has been steady again this season. And they're correct. Ragnarsson is vital to San Jose's scheme defensively. Still, he is hardly the most obvious top-six defenseman ever selected -- on either side of the Atlantic. Now, the second part of our summation -- people you won't see Sunday, Feb. 4, in Denver -- not as participants, anyway. In fact, some very familiar names will be absent, including Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanihan, Mike Modano, Owen Nolan, Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick. That's just on the N.A. side. The Euros will ice a team sans Peter Bondra, Alexei Yashin and Teemu Selanne. Yashin is performing well, but he is not yet beyond the PR fiasco that was last season's holdout. Selanne's streak of seven straight all-star appearances is over and the slumping Selanne can only look in the mirror if he needs clarification as to why. However, Bondra may seek further explanation. Granted, he may not be back to "Peter the Great" status, but "Peter the Very Good" should have been enough to earn a spot.
Then there is Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora and the Bruins' Sergei Samsonov. The list goes on and on. Cases on behalf of any number of players are possible. Let's not forget the biggest oversights this season -- Milan Hejduk and Pierre Turgeon. Hejduk leads the NHL with eight game-winning goals and Turgeon is 16th in scoring and they are merely idle bystanders come all-star weekend. Correct that. The biggest omission is that 20 percent of the member teams lack representation. The New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild were all snubbed. All victims of the NHL quietly reducing the all-star rosters to 21 men per side. All in the name of having a more competitive game -- a game that more closely resembles a typical NHL offering, featuring the game's elite. Looking to improve the actual game at the center of the event? Very valid. Nevertheless, the timing is preposterously poor -- maybe five years out when newer franchises have had time to develop a bit. Certainly not this year. Not as the league swells to 30 hockey clubs; not when the result has the two newest offerings, one three-year old franchise and two of six from the Canadian contingency all watching from afar. Roster right sizing. Perfect. The timing? Less than perfect. Oh, well. What all-star game isn't? Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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