In an attempt to revamp the NHL All-Star game and make things more interesting for the fans, the NHL has reportedly decided to change things up by giving the game more of a schoolyard, pick your best friends, touch.
↵↵↵The Canadian Press, citing an unidentified source, reported two captains will choose players from either conference to make up the teams for the 2011 game in Carolina. The expectation is the sides will be determined during a live television event at the start of All-Star weekend.
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NHL vice president Brendan Shanahan, a former Red Wing, developed the idea and discussed the change during the GM meetings on Tuesday, but was reluctant to talk about it with the media afterward.
For the past seven years, the teams have been divided up by conference, Eastern vs. Western, but the NHL obviously feels that isn't generating enough interest.
↵While the change will definitely create some excitement in the draft, I'm not so sure it'll benefit the ratings of the game itself. I guess it depends on how much interest people have in potentially seeing unorthodox lines, like Ovechkin, Crosby and Kane, but I really don't think it's going to make the game anymore entertaining.
↵Commend the NHL for trying something different, though. MLB tried to spice up their All-Star game by giving the winning league's World Series representative home field advantage, but that system is terribly unfair and a dirty way to get better ratings for an otherwise meaningless game. The NHL is doing it right by trying new, fun things that aren't tricking fans into believing the game is more than it really is.
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