Vancouver Canucks: The NHL All-Star Game Just Got a Whole Lot Worse
Nobody likes the NHL All-Star Game and nobody likes seeing Henrik and Daniel Sedin apart. Unsurprisingly, neither one of those things gets better by combining the two.
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The National Hockey League announced the full rosters for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game (or tournament), including one Vancouver Canucks forward: Daniel Sedin. Sedin joins a group of players lead by team captain John Scott. Yes, John Scott.
The All-Star Game was always a joke. This year, however, the league changed the format to a four-team 3-on-3 tournament, each division sending one team to Nashville. Admittedly a good idea, and something that might make the whole event a little more interesting.
Unfortunately, that changed very quickly, when fans around the world played a hilarious joke on the NHL, sending in votes for Scott as Team Pacific’s captain. Hilarious, guys, hilarious. Meanwhile, Scott is telling himself that he deserves it, according to the Edmonton Journal:
"“A few Hall of Famers and it’s the old ‘Which one doesn’t belong here?’ That would be me. It’s pretty neat,” said the Arizona Coyotes’ 33-year-old career bodyguard. “I can take the negative and say, ‘I don’t belong here, I don’t deserve it,’ and it can end up spiralling downwards and you lose your mind or I can look at the positive. It started as a joke. I get that. But I’ll have fun with it. I’ve talked to past and present players and they said, ‘Just go with it, you’ve grinded it out for this many years, you deserve it.’”"
Oh well, this is old news. New is the rest of the roster:
F Daniel Sedin (VAN)
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Taylor Hall (EDM)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Corey Perry (ANA)
F John Scott (ARI)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)
D Mark Giordano (CGY)
G John Gibson (ANA)
G Jonathan Quick (LAK)
HC Darryl Sutter (LAK)
The Pacific Division team features several star players who can excel in 3-on-3 play — and Scott. Sorry, had to throw that in there again.
Bad news for Canucks fans: Daniel will be without his brother Henrik. But why?
As of today, the Pacific Division’s top-five scorers are Hall (41 points), Gaudreau (39), Pavelski (38), Daniel (38), Henrik (34). Henrik also missed two games and might have had a point or two more than he does now. So, why is Perry — 92nd in NHL scoring with 25 points — on the roster over Henrik?
My first assumption was that Perry is the only Anaheim Duck on the roster. Then I discovered goaltender John Gibson. The Ducks got Perry and Gibson, the Sharks got Pavelski and Burns, the Flames got Gaudreau and Giordano, the Kings got Doughty and Quick — plus head coach Sutter, if you want to count him as well. Why can’t Vancouver get both Sedins?
Whatever the reason might be, it doesn’t even matter. It will just be less interesting to watch.
So let’s not whine about that too much. After all, this is the All-Star Game we are talking about. It’s a joke. A joke that just got a whole lot less interesting for Canucks fans.
That said, good luck to Daniel Sedin!
On a related note, the NHL revealed the 2016 All-Star Game jerseys:
From the official release:
"Each All-Star jersey features the official NHL Shield infused with the Predators’ gold in the crest. For the on-ice version of the All-Star jersey, the crest has been constructed with reflective material which glimmers in certain light as a salute to Nashville’s vibrant night-life scene. The black and white color scheme in each jersey shares the colors of the keys on a piano to celebrate the city of Nashville’s “Music City” nickname.The All-Star jerseys will feature numbers and letters designed as modern interpretations of traditional country music poster lettering, which has been a defining aesthetic of Nashville."
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Four teams, two jerseys — welcome to the NHL All-Star Joke. Each player will be issued a dark and a light jersey. Therefore, each and every game of the event will be black vs. white. How amazing!
Does anybody even care who wins?