NHL Slap Shots: On John Scott And The NHL All-Star Game

On Friday afternoon, John Scott, the unlikely All-Star captain who was recently optioned to the minors, was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a three-team deal.

In the wake of the deal, veteran TSN hockey insider Bob MacKenzie said that both the league and the Coyotes had previously lobbied Scott to reconsider accepting a place on the All-Star team after the veteran fourth line forward was voted in by the fans. Scott declined and was eventually declared the captain for the Pacific Division squad, but being traded to Montreal will almost assuredly bring his All-Star campaign to a close.

As soon as MacKenzie’s revelation that both the league and the Coyotes petitioned Scott to pass on going to the All-Star Game came out, fans lined up to take shots at the NHL and the club – and rightfully so. It’s a dick move, even if it’s one that came about as a result of another dick move and that’s the part of this saga that people are conveniently revising now that the league look like jerks.

Scott was voted in by the fans, not because he’s an elite talent or deserving of a place amongst the best in the game based on his play this season, but as a means of exposing a gigantic flaw in the whole “fan vote” process. It’s not the first time a fan campaign for an unheralded player garnered attention. During the 2006-07 seasons, fans tried to get Canucks defensemen Rory Fitzpatrick into the game, despite the fact that he had zero points and played just 18 games; he finished ultimately finished third in voting. It is, however, the first time that player was actually voted into the game, which is a victory for Internet hockey trolls everywhere, something conveniently being overlooked in all this outrage towards the league.

This isn’t a collection of people banding together to reward Scott for years of determination; it’s a bunch of people casting a ballot for a player who spends more time in the press box and the penalty box than on the ice. If half of the people that voted for Scott can run down the list of teams he’s played for during his itinerate journey around the league, then cool, but chances are many of them have no idea where he played last year, making this a hollow move.

Once Scott got in, players got on board and the narrative started changing. They talked about how it was great to see a guy that never complains and happily accepts his role in the game get to play in the All-Star Game, which turned this into an actual feel-good story and that’s where the league and the Coyotes screwed up.

This became a positive – something that had people interested in the All-Star Game for the first time in years – and the league worked to stamp it out because… who the hell knows to be honest.

You can’t make this a “he’s in the other conference now” argument because they cleared Sandis Ozolinsh clearance to shift back when he was traded from one conference to the other, so the precedent has already been set.

You can’t make this a “the game is to be taken seriously” argument because it’s an exhibition game and no one takes it seriously – not the fans and definitely not the players. Major League Baseball tethered homefield advantage in the World Series to the outcome of its All-Star Game and it hasn’t changed the fun, laid back way that game is played, so the NHL has no shot of making that case here.

Which basically leaves the league and the Coyotes to tell the truth – that they don’t want John Scott in the All-Star Game. And here’s the thing: it’s kind of understandable, even if it is a dick move.

The Coyotes would much rather have Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Max Domi representing them in the festivities and the league wants the best players available in the game, not hulking enforcers that get voted in by fans to highlight the loopholes in the selection process.

But you can’t punish Scott for those flaws in the present; all you can do is address them in the future.

Get rid of fan voting because it’s nothing more than a popularity contest in most instances and a chance to pull nonsense like this on occasion. Have players and coaches select the squad and go from there. Because if there is no fan voting, there is no John Scott in the All-Star Game to begin with, which means there is no public relations fire for the league and Arizona to put out.