One of the regular articles you will see posted on the blog is called "Rank". This is a top ten countdown of various topics. Each edition of Rank will focus on a different subject related to a current NHL story. Enjoy these countdowns and please use the comments section to give your opinion on what should've been #1.
This edition of rank is a recap of the best moments from this past NHL season. The "best moments" are hard to define. So this is a mixture of moments that were good for the NHL, exciting for the fans, had a major impact on the season or tugged at hockey fan heartstrings.
10. Dupuis Raises the Cup
It isn't exactly a Ray Bourque style swan song, but there was something special about watching a class act like Pascal Dupuis lace them up for the final time to skate around the ice with the Stanley Cup. I was lucky enough to be in the building when the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup this year. I was standing right behind the glass, about 25 feet away, when he lifted it. I had chills, everyone that saw it did.
Dupuis only played 18 games this season. He was forced to retire in early December due to blood clots. He was one of the most beloved players on the team and was one of the leaders in the locker room. Dupuis played an integral role in the Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. So when he got to raise the cup at the end of this season, it was a truly special moment.
9. Detroit Sneaks In
25 straight years of making the NHL playoffs is impressive. So impressive that it is the 3rd longest streak in the history of the 4 major American sports leagues. The Red Wings dominance of the 90s and 2000s has faded, but their quarter century playoff streak still cannot be snapped.
They didn't exactly clinch their playoff birth, as much as Boston handed it to them. The Bruins lost their final game of the season 6-1 to the lowly Senators, a win would have clinched a Bruins playoff birth and knocked the Red Wings out of the playoff picture. Just because Detroit wasn't a dominant Stanley Cup contender does not make two and a half decades of success any less impressive.
8. Braden Holtby Runs Away with Vezina
Where to start? This guy was untouchable during the regular season. His stat line sounds like something out of a video game. A 48-9-7 record, 2.20 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. He tied the NHL record for most wins in a season by a goaltender. He didn't even suffer double digit regulation losses. 44 goalies had more losses than him, there are only 30 teams in the league! He was a wall all season long.
The capitals have been a great regular season team for a decade now. They consistently finish at or near the top of the league in points. However, they can never seem to find their groove in the playoffs (never advancing past the 2nd round during the Ovechkin era). Many believe the reason is goaltending. In order to win in the playoffs you need great performances from your netminder. Prior to Holtby's breakout season they never had a goaltender they could rely on, now they do.
7. Patrick Kane Domination
It has been a while since the choice for the Hart Trophy (MVP) was this obvious. Patrick Kane's season was not necessarily historic based on his statistics. Comparably his 106 points would only have been good enough for 8th in the league during 1988-89 season. However, he ran away with the scoring title this season, beating runner-up Jamie Benn by 17 points. He essentially locked up the Art Ross Trophy (leading scorer) in late February. Kane has been one of the league's best players for the better part of a decade, which makes his stats even more impressive this year. He tallied career highs in goals (46), assists (60), points (106), plus/minus (+17) and game-winning goals (9).
The Blackhawks are a dynasty that began in 2010, winners of 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years. The downside of being a dynasty in the modern NHL is each year you lose some of your best players. Each season the Blackhawks lose more and more valuable players to free agency and trades due to salary cap restrictions. Players like Saad, Byfuglien and Niemi each have been poached. This makes Kane's performance that much more impressive. The quality of the players around him has decreased, but he carried the load and improved his statistics. This was not a very good Blackhawks team, evidenced by their first round playoff exit. Patrick Kane carried them to the playoffs.
6. Crosby Reborn
33 games into the season Sidney Crosby had 27 points and was a -10, only 5 points in the month of October. He was off to the worst start of his career. He quickly went from being widely considered the best player in the world, to Pittsburgh fans suggesting he should be traded. Much of the hockey world claiming that he was no longer a superstar and could not be the face of the NHL. When the calendar flipped from 2015 to 2016 so did Sid the Kid.
In the final 52 games of the season Crosby amassed 66 points. He was the best player in the world again. Dominant in all aspects of the game. It wasn't just what Crosby did on the scoring sheet, he was great in all aspects. He started to win more faceoffs, was more responsible in the defensive zone and actually made his teammates better. He finished the season third in the league in points with 85. (26 goals/49 assists). In early March Crosby was so hot that much of the league thought he could catch Patrick Kane in the scoring race. He put a struggling team on his back and carried them all the way to a Stanley Cup.
5. Jagr Remains a Star
The guy is living the dream. 44 years old, plays in sunny south Florida and is still one of the best hockey players in the world. The career of Jaromir Jagr may be the most impressive of all time, when he finally decides to hang up the skates. 3rd on the all-time points and goals lists, two Stanley Cups and five scoring titles. Nevermind that he took a three year break from the NHL in the middle of his career and lost another year of his prime due to the 2004 lockout. The guy is an icon and he isn't done playing yet.
We will have plenty of time to drool about Jagr's amazing career when it's over. Right now lets talk about how impressive he still is. At 44 years old he played 79 games, scored 27 goals and had 66 points. He led the Florida Panthers in scoring. This isn't the Florida Panthers of a few years ago. This was the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers, thanks to Jagr. A great season for almost any player, but especially for someone that started playing in the league 26 years ago.
4. Where is Canada?
Apparently its a country to the north of the United States that really loves hockey, but has no good hockey teams. For the first time since 1970 there were zero Canadian based teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Out of the seven teams north of the border, not one was good enough to clinch a playoff berth. Shocking, but as an American hockey fan I cannot say I was disappointed.
3. Rookies Shine Bright
Each year we find one or two great rookies that jump onto the scene and immediately become stars. This year we were blessed with a handful of rookie sensations.
Connor McDavid was the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, with the most hype of any draft pick since Sidney Crosby. There was so much excitement around seeing McDavid play that many wanted to hand him the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) before the season started. His season and hopes for the trophy were in doubt when he fractured his left clavicle in early November. After missing three months, due to the injury, he rebounded like a superstar. He averaged more than a point per game, totaling 48 points in just 45 games. On February 11th he had a five point performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dylan Larkin was named to the NHL All Star team this season, but was not selected as a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He had an impressive start to his NHL career, notching a goal and an assist in his NHL debut. Then being named the Rookie of the Month for November. However, the first time most casual NHL fans noticed Larkin was during the NHL SuperSkills Competition. There Larkin set the NHL record for fastest skater. His super speed helped propel Larkin to 23 goals and 45 points this season.
Artemi Panarin is a little older than your typical NHL rookie, 24 years of age, because he played seven professional seasons in Russia. Regardless of his age there is no denying his numbers and impact. Panarin led all rookies in goals (30), assists (47) and points (77), good enough for ninth in the league for points. You have to be a special player to be able to join the defending Stanley Cup Champions first line as a rookie.
After one season he is already one of the most feared offensive defensemen in the NHL. Shayne Gostisbehere was the most talked about rookies during the second half of the season. As a defenseman he tallied 17 goals and 29 assists, the most for each category among rookie defenseman. He also achieved a 15 game point streak during his rookie campaign. Possibly the most impressive statistic are his four overtime goals, tying the single season record for defensemen. What makes all of these numbers more impressive? He did all of this while only playing 64 games.
In one of the strangest, but greatest seasons by a rookie goaltender, Matt Murray became a legitimate NHL goalie and the answer to the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending issue. Last season Murray was named the AHL's best goaltender, so conventional wisdom leads you to believe that he would eventually do great things in the NHL. However, I don't think anyone expected it to come so quickly or in such a brief time. He became the Penguins starter late in the season due to injury and quickly proved he deserved the job. In 13 regular season games he posted a 9-2-1 record with a 2.00 goals against average. In the playoffs he backstopped the Penguins all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, along the way out-dueling Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby. He eventually hoisted the Stanley Cup and became only the fifth rookie goaltender in NHL history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup victory.
2. Mike for Mike
On December 12th of this season the Pittsburgh Penguins made a move that changed the course of their season and by effect the entire league. They fired then head coach Mike Johnston and promoted their AHL head coach, Mike Sullivan. Johnston coached the team to a 15-10-3 record before his firing. A respectable record for most teams, but not one with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang in its lineup. The Penguins were out of the playoff picture and 28th in the league in scoring. Mike Sullivan changed everything.
Sullivan knew he had a great foundation of talent, but had to find the right way for them to play to win. The way the team was built, they were never going to win with Johnston's defensive-trap style. They were built for speed and to play aggressive. That is exactly how Sullivan turned things around in Pittsburgh. His biggest challenge would be asserting himself as the disciplinarian leader the team's superstars needed. The two previous head coaches could never get to a point where the star players respected them or their gameplan. This led to a reckless, inconsistent team that annually came up short in the playoffs. Sullivan was not going to let his stars dictate his coaching or hurt the team's success. His most impressive achievement as a coach this season was his ability to tell his stars "no". On multiple occasions if any of the star players were playing poor, took a bad penalty or were not playing to the gameplan they were benched and lost ice time. This never happened under Johnston or prior head coach Dan Bylsma.
Mike Sullivan's methods proved to be enormously successful. He coached the Penguins to a 33-16-5 record in his 54 regular season games as head coach. Good enough for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, behind only the President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals. Sullivan's success continued in the playoffs as he maintained his team's laser focus (one of his most common phrases during pre-game speeches) and out-coached the opposing team's bench sergeant on an almost nightly basis. He coached a team that was out of the playoff picture in December, all the way to a Stanley Cup championship in June.
1. John Scott... All-Star?
By far the most discussed and argued story during the middle of the season had to be the John Scott All-Star game saga. A 33 year old career fourth liner with hands of stone used more for punching than scoring was voted an all-star. Wait, what?
The NHL, in their vast wisdom, decided to open up fan voting for the 2016 All-Star Game to ANY player the fans wanted to vote for. So of course in the time of internet trolling the fans decided to vote for the least deserving player in the NHL, John Scott. In the 11 games Scott skated prior to the all-star game he tallied 0 goals and 1 assist. He is a career fighter. The exact type of player the NHL has been trying to force out of the game for years now. The fans saw their opportunity to again raise their middle fingers in the direction of Commissioner Gary Bettman and they took full advantage. The league thought this was a joke that would be short-lived and eventually the more deserving players would win out. Things did not go as planned.
As the All-Star game got closer Scott's vote lead grew. What started as a mean spirited joke was becoming reality. Keep in mind that what was meant to insult the NHL was also insulting Scott as a sort of collateral damage. Originally Scott wanted no part of the game as he knew he was taking a deserving players spot and was being insulted at the same time. Eventually he realized how special it would be for his kids to get to see him play in this one-of-a-kind game. So when the league asked him to back out on his own (to keep the league from looking bad) he refused. The league was then forced to publicly announce that they would permit Scott to play. "As long as voting is legitimate, we will honor the results." - Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. This incited an internet riot. The fans that originally were laughing now were protesting the NHL's decision not to play him. Better yet, Scott was publicly saying he wanted to play and his fellow players were on his side. The only thing standing between Scott and all-stardom was league management... and of course sanity.
The fan reaction was so dramatic that the NHL eventually was forced to backpedal and say they would honor the fan vote to allow Scott to play in the game. Hooray! Everyone is happy now, right? Well just when we all thought the joke was over the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens agreed to take part in one of the dirtiest, behind closed door moments in NHL history. You have to be a little bit of a conspiracy theorist to buy into this, but there is really no other explanation. Just two weeks prior to the game the Arizona Coyotes agreed to trade John Scott to the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens immediately sent Scott to the AHL, making him ineligible for the NHL All-Star Game. So to prevent this guy from playing in a meaningless game, the NHL forced his team to trade him away and have him booted out of the league, not to mention uprooting his whole family from sunny Arizona to a different country. Did I mention John Scott's wife was very close to giving birth during all of this? Way to go NHL, you showed him!
The fans reaction was visceral. They flooded the league office and interwebs with complaints. After a few days the NHL could not take it anymore. They waved their white flag and finally stepped down and let John Scott play. Probably the least surprising part of the story is that Scott played and he played well. He scored two goals during the event and was awarded the MVP award for the all-star game, another fan elected honor. To be fair Scott's teammates forced him the puck as much as possible. They wanted him to score and when he did he received a standing ovation. A well-deserved honor, not for scoring, but for enduring all the insults, back-stabbing from his own team and being the butt of a very mean and public joke. Good for you John Scott, you will always be able to say you were an all-star.
This edition of rank is a recap of the best moments from this past NHL season. The "best moments" are hard to define. So this is a mixture of moments that were good for the NHL, exciting for the fans, had a major impact on the season or tugged at hockey fan heartstrings.
10. Dupuis Raises the Cup
It isn't exactly a Ray Bourque style swan song, but there was something special about watching a class act like Pascal Dupuis lace them up for the final time to skate around the ice with the Stanley Cup. I was lucky enough to be in the building when the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup this year. I was standing right behind the glass, about 25 feet away, when he lifted it. I had chills, everyone that saw it did.
Dupuis only played 18 games this season. He was forced to retire in early December due to blood clots. He was one of the most beloved players on the team and was one of the leaders in the locker room. Dupuis played an integral role in the Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. So when he got to raise the cup at the end of this season, it was a truly special moment.
9. Detroit Sneaks In
25 straight years of making the NHL playoffs is impressive. So impressive that it is the 3rd longest streak in the history of the 4 major American sports leagues. The Red Wings dominance of the 90s and 2000s has faded, but their quarter century playoff streak still cannot be snapped.
They didn't exactly clinch their playoff birth, as much as Boston handed it to them. The Bruins lost their final game of the season 6-1 to the lowly Senators, a win would have clinched a Bruins playoff birth and knocked the Red Wings out of the playoff picture. Just because Detroit wasn't a dominant Stanley Cup contender does not make two and a half decades of success any less impressive.
8. Braden Holtby Runs Away with Vezina
Where to start? This guy was untouchable during the regular season. His stat line sounds like something out of a video game. A 48-9-7 record, 2.20 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. He tied the NHL record for most wins in a season by a goaltender. He didn't even suffer double digit regulation losses. 44 goalies had more losses than him, there are only 30 teams in the league! He was a wall all season long.
The capitals have been a great regular season team for a decade now. They consistently finish at or near the top of the league in points. However, they can never seem to find their groove in the playoffs (never advancing past the 2nd round during the Ovechkin era). Many believe the reason is goaltending. In order to win in the playoffs you need great performances from your netminder. Prior to Holtby's breakout season they never had a goaltender they could rely on, now they do.
7. Patrick Kane Domination
It has been a while since the choice for the Hart Trophy (MVP) was this obvious. Patrick Kane's season was not necessarily historic based on his statistics. Comparably his 106 points would only have been good enough for 8th in the league during 1988-89 season. However, he ran away with the scoring title this season, beating runner-up Jamie Benn by 17 points. He essentially locked up the Art Ross Trophy (leading scorer) in late February. Kane has been one of the league's best players for the better part of a decade, which makes his stats even more impressive this year. He tallied career highs in goals (46), assists (60), points (106), plus/minus (+17) and game-winning goals (9).
The Blackhawks are a dynasty that began in 2010, winners of 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years. The downside of being a dynasty in the modern NHL is each year you lose some of your best players. Each season the Blackhawks lose more and more valuable players to free agency and trades due to salary cap restrictions. Players like Saad, Byfuglien and Niemi each have been poached. This makes Kane's performance that much more impressive. The quality of the players around him has decreased, but he carried the load and improved his statistics. This was not a very good Blackhawks team, evidenced by their first round playoff exit. Patrick Kane carried them to the playoffs.
6. Crosby Reborn
33 games into the season Sidney Crosby had 27 points and was a -10, only 5 points in the month of October. He was off to the worst start of his career. He quickly went from being widely considered the best player in the world, to Pittsburgh fans suggesting he should be traded. Much of the hockey world claiming that he was no longer a superstar and could not be the face of the NHL. When the calendar flipped from 2015 to 2016 so did Sid the Kid.
In the final 52 games of the season Crosby amassed 66 points. He was the best player in the world again. Dominant in all aspects of the game. It wasn't just what Crosby did on the scoring sheet, he was great in all aspects. He started to win more faceoffs, was more responsible in the defensive zone and actually made his teammates better. He finished the season third in the league in points with 85. (26 goals/49 assists). In early March Crosby was so hot that much of the league thought he could catch Patrick Kane in the scoring race. He put a struggling team on his back and carried them all the way to a Stanley Cup.
5. Jagr Remains a Star
The guy is living the dream. 44 years old, plays in sunny south Florida and is still one of the best hockey players in the world. The career of Jaromir Jagr may be the most impressive of all time, when he finally decides to hang up the skates. 3rd on the all-time points and goals lists, two Stanley Cups and five scoring titles. Nevermind that he took a three year break from the NHL in the middle of his career and lost another year of his prime due to the 2004 lockout. The guy is an icon and he isn't done playing yet.
We will have plenty of time to drool about Jagr's amazing career when it's over. Right now lets talk about how impressive he still is. At 44 years old he played 79 games, scored 27 goals and had 66 points. He led the Florida Panthers in scoring. This isn't the Florida Panthers of a few years ago. This was the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers, thanks to Jagr. A great season for almost any player, but especially for someone that started playing in the league 26 years ago.
4. Where is Canada?
Apparently its a country to the north of the United States that really loves hockey, but has no good hockey teams. For the first time since 1970 there were zero Canadian based teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Out of the seven teams north of the border, not one was good enough to clinch a playoff berth. Shocking, but as an American hockey fan I cannot say I was disappointed.
3. Rookies Shine Bright
Each year we find one or two great rookies that jump onto the scene and immediately become stars. This year we were blessed with a handful of rookie sensations.
Connor McDavid was the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, with the most hype of any draft pick since Sidney Crosby. There was so much excitement around seeing McDavid play that many wanted to hand him the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) before the season started. His season and hopes for the trophy were in doubt when he fractured his left clavicle in early November. After missing three months, due to the injury, he rebounded like a superstar. He averaged more than a point per game, totaling 48 points in just 45 games. On February 11th he had a five point performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dylan Larkin was named to the NHL All Star team this season, but was not selected as a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He had an impressive start to his NHL career, notching a goal and an assist in his NHL debut. Then being named the Rookie of the Month for November. However, the first time most casual NHL fans noticed Larkin was during the NHL SuperSkills Competition. There Larkin set the NHL record for fastest skater. His super speed helped propel Larkin to 23 goals and 45 points this season.
Artemi Panarin is a little older than your typical NHL rookie, 24 years of age, because he played seven professional seasons in Russia. Regardless of his age there is no denying his numbers and impact. Panarin led all rookies in goals (30), assists (47) and points (77), good enough for ninth in the league for points. You have to be a special player to be able to join the defending Stanley Cup Champions first line as a rookie.
After one season he is already one of the most feared offensive defensemen in the NHL. Shayne Gostisbehere was the most talked about rookies during the second half of the season. As a defenseman he tallied 17 goals and 29 assists, the most for each category among rookie defenseman. He also achieved a 15 game point streak during his rookie campaign. Possibly the most impressive statistic are his four overtime goals, tying the single season record for defensemen. What makes all of these numbers more impressive? He did all of this while only playing 64 games.
In one of the strangest, but greatest seasons by a rookie goaltender, Matt Murray became a legitimate NHL goalie and the answer to the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending issue. Last season Murray was named the AHL's best goaltender, so conventional wisdom leads you to believe that he would eventually do great things in the NHL. However, I don't think anyone expected it to come so quickly or in such a brief time. He became the Penguins starter late in the season due to injury and quickly proved he deserved the job. In 13 regular season games he posted a 9-2-1 record with a 2.00 goals against average. In the playoffs he backstopped the Penguins all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, along the way out-dueling Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby. He eventually hoisted the Stanley Cup and became only the fifth rookie goaltender in NHL history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup victory.
2. Mike for Mike
On December 12th of this season the Pittsburgh Penguins made a move that changed the course of their season and by effect the entire league. They fired then head coach Mike Johnston and promoted their AHL head coach, Mike Sullivan. Johnston coached the team to a 15-10-3 record before his firing. A respectable record for most teams, but not one with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang in its lineup. The Penguins were out of the playoff picture and 28th in the league in scoring. Mike Sullivan changed everything.
Sullivan knew he had a great foundation of talent, but had to find the right way for them to play to win. The way the team was built, they were never going to win with Johnston's defensive-trap style. They were built for speed and to play aggressive. That is exactly how Sullivan turned things around in Pittsburgh. His biggest challenge would be asserting himself as the disciplinarian leader the team's superstars needed. The two previous head coaches could never get to a point where the star players respected them or their gameplan. This led to a reckless, inconsistent team that annually came up short in the playoffs. Sullivan was not going to let his stars dictate his coaching or hurt the team's success. His most impressive achievement as a coach this season was his ability to tell his stars "no". On multiple occasions if any of the star players were playing poor, took a bad penalty or were not playing to the gameplan they were benched and lost ice time. This never happened under Johnston or prior head coach Dan Bylsma.
Mike Sullivan's methods proved to be enormously successful. He coached the Penguins to a 33-16-5 record in his 54 regular season games as head coach. Good enough for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, behind only the President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals. Sullivan's success continued in the playoffs as he maintained his team's laser focus (one of his most common phrases during pre-game speeches) and out-coached the opposing team's bench sergeant on an almost nightly basis. He coached a team that was out of the playoff picture in December, all the way to a Stanley Cup championship in June.
1. John Scott... All-Star?
By far the most discussed and argued story during the middle of the season had to be the John Scott All-Star game saga. A 33 year old career fourth liner with hands of stone used more for punching than scoring was voted an all-star. Wait, what?
The NHL, in their vast wisdom, decided to open up fan voting for the 2016 All-Star Game to ANY player the fans wanted to vote for. So of course in the time of internet trolling the fans decided to vote for the least deserving player in the NHL, John Scott. In the 11 games Scott skated prior to the all-star game he tallied 0 goals and 1 assist. He is a career fighter. The exact type of player the NHL has been trying to force out of the game for years now. The fans saw their opportunity to again raise their middle fingers in the direction of Commissioner Gary Bettman and they took full advantage. The league thought this was a joke that would be short-lived and eventually the more deserving players would win out. Things did not go as planned.
As the All-Star game got closer Scott's vote lead grew. What started as a mean spirited joke was becoming reality. Keep in mind that what was meant to insult the NHL was also insulting Scott as a sort of collateral damage. Originally Scott wanted no part of the game as he knew he was taking a deserving players spot and was being insulted at the same time. Eventually he realized how special it would be for his kids to get to see him play in this one-of-a-kind game. So when the league asked him to back out on his own (to keep the league from looking bad) he refused. The league was then forced to publicly announce that they would permit Scott to play. "As long as voting is legitimate, we will honor the results." - Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. This incited an internet riot. The fans that originally were laughing now were protesting the NHL's decision not to play him. Better yet, Scott was publicly saying he wanted to play and his fellow players were on his side. The only thing standing between Scott and all-stardom was league management... and of course sanity.
The fan reaction was so dramatic that the NHL eventually was forced to backpedal and say they would honor the fan vote to allow Scott to play in the game. Hooray! Everyone is happy now, right? Well just when we all thought the joke was over the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens agreed to take part in one of the dirtiest, behind closed door moments in NHL history. You have to be a little bit of a conspiracy theorist to buy into this, but there is really no other explanation. Just two weeks prior to the game the Arizona Coyotes agreed to trade John Scott to the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens immediately sent Scott to the AHL, making him ineligible for the NHL All-Star Game. So to prevent this guy from playing in a meaningless game, the NHL forced his team to trade him away and have him booted out of the league, not to mention uprooting his whole family from sunny Arizona to a different country. Did I mention John Scott's wife was very close to giving birth during all of this? Way to go NHL, you showed him!
The fans reaction was visceral. They flooded the league office and interwebs with complaints. After a few days the NHL could not take it anymore. They waved their white flag and finally stepped down and let John Scott play. Probably the least surprising part of the story is that Scott played and he played well. He scored two goals during the event and was awarded the MVP award for the all-star game, another fan elected honor. To be fair Scott's teammates forced him the puck as much as possible. They wanted him to score and when he did he received a standing ovation. A well-deserved honor, not for scoring, but for enduring all the insults, back-stabbing from his own team and being the butt of a very mean and public joke. Good for you John Scott, you will always be able to say you were an all-star.
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