The NHL may be working to ensure John Scott 2.0 never happens at the All-Star Game.
Remember when Scott, a marginal NHL talent who was bouncing off pro rosters, was elected by fan voting to represent the Pacific Division at the All-Star game? The NHL did all they could to prevent Scott from playing but the now-retired enforcer ended up making the trip to Nashville and starring in the weekend’s festivities. A troll job turned into the season’s best individual moment.
The NHL doesn’t want to see a repeat of fan voting, as Ken Campbell of the Hockey News reports the league is putting new parameters in place to define who can be elected into the game.
As was told to thn.com by a league source, “There will be parameters put around what it means to be an NHL player. The intent is to allow populist voting if that’s what the fans want to do, but players elected have to be bona fide NHLers.”
If new All-Star rules do come to fruition, who is and isn’t eligible may have a noticeable impact on voting. The NHL isn’t so dense to eliminate a huge chunk of subpar NHLers, but more likely will make sure a certain game or TOI threshold needs to be reached in order to attend. Scott suited up in 11 games with the Coyotes pre-All-Star break, scoring one point. Similar stat lines might be ineligible in the future.
The NHL’s angle is understandable as they don’t want a repeat of troll voting. But, taking away fans’ voting options, even if it’s just a minimal change, isn’t a great move. Let fans have fun. Isn’t that what the All-Star Game is about?
