Is the NHL All-Star Game a fraud or just plain fun?

On one side: The event hurts marketing efforts. On the other: Let's simply appreciate the sport's best.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO and TOM JONES, Times Staff Writers
Published January 27, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Getty Images] Marty St. Louis, top, and Vinny Lecavalier are representing the Lightning at this season's All-Star Game. [Getty Images]

I want to like the NHL All-Star Game. I really do. But each time I have covered one and every time I have watched, I am unsatisfied; kind of like going to Bern's and not enjoying a steak.

Where is the hitting that is so important to an NHL game? Where is the passion? Why doesn't anyone seem to care?

Yeah, I know, it's an exhibition and no one wants to get hurt and blah, blah, blah. The thing is, the NHL lives and breathes on the passion of the game; the grinding, the battles for pucks, the battles for body position, the blood and sweat.

The NHL markets that.

So why, then, does its showcase midseason event seem more like afternoon tea?

Think of this: You are a casual fan or a new fan and you tune in to watch the All-Star Game. "Okay, not bad," you say. You like some of the skills, the speed of the skaters. But then you watch a regular-season game.

Not quite the same thing, is it?

Maybe you think it's better, maybe worse. The point is, the All-Star Game is not an accurate representation of the NHL's product, and that has to rub real fans the wrong way, fans who know hockey might be the only sport where effort and passion trumps talent.

Even Lightning stars Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis said the day-before skills competition is their favorite part of All-Star weekend.

I know, "Hey, lighten up. Enjoy the day for what it is." Phooey. I can see the stars every night playing in real games and really testing their skills.

The solution?

Forget intellectually dishonest ideas such as Major League Baseball giving homefield advantage to the league of its All-Star winner.

Play the game outside. Because of the snow and cold, no one hits in those outdoor games, anyway.

Damian Cristodero, who has covered the Lightning for the Times since 2000, can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com.

The NHL All-Star Game isn't about hard checks or passionate battles for the puck or, heck, even about who wins or loses.

It's not supposed to be a real game. That's not the point. It's a celebration of the NHL, a celebration of the sport itself. It's about gathering the greatest players in the world, putting them on the same stage and saluting their talents.

Think of it as hockey's version of the Grammy Awards. Sure, it's not the same as going to see Kanye West or Springsteen or Fergie in a concert by themselves, but it is a chance to see them show off their talents for a song or two and make you realize why you love them so much.

It's a chance to see Vinny Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Ovechkin not only play in the same game, but play on the same line. Or how about Joe Thornton, Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash coming down on a three-on-one against defenseman Zdeno Chara and goalie Rick DiPietro?

Yes, the final score usually ends up resembling a football game: 14-12, 13-10 and so forth. So what? Don't we sit through enough mind-numbing 1-0 Devils-Panthers games during the regular season? What's one game when the stars - the players who actually have the ability to make no-look, behind-the-back passes and tic-tac-toe plays - can dig into a bag of tricks and try something they wouldn't try in a normal game?

What the game lacks in hits and true passion, it more than makes up for in speed, eye-popping moves, incredible saves and goals - the latter being a pretty rare commodity in today's often-too-boring NHL.

I have no problem mixing up the rules a bit - playing four-on-four, taking the game outdoors, playing with bigger or smaller nets or whatever. But don't ever take the game away.

It's not your typical NHL game. It's not supposed to be. Once a year, not only can we live with that, but we can appreciate and enjoy it.

Tom Jones, who has covered the Lightning for the Times and the Wild for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, can be reached at tjones@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 26, 2008, 20:02:32]