Feb 3, 2016
Thumbs to NHL All-Star Game, McDavid’s return
TSN's Dave Hodge gives thumbs to the dilemma the NHL faces heading into next year's all-star game in Los Angeles and extends his thumbs to Connor McDavid’s triumphant return.
By Dave Hodge
Gone but not forgotten. All-Star MVP and NHL Player of the Week John Scott was nowhere to be found on an NHL team’s roster as play resumed with a dozen games last night. It would expose the league for its shameful ways in orchestrating Scott’s trade from Arizona to Montreal, but, for obvious reasons, the Canadiens should probably send him back to the Coyotes. The joke is the Habs could get two first-round draft picks for him.
What should the NHL do about the John Scott phenomenon for next year’s 3-on-3 tournament in Los Angeles? It is assumed that, prior to the game in Nashville, there was agreement in the NHL hierarchy that fan voting in 2017 would be limited to players listed on a ballot, with no write-in names allowed.
Now, you can bet the matter is floating in the air, with the suggestion that hockey fans are already talking about who the next John Scott should be. It would seem to be a public-relations gaffe to deny them their fun and to take from the next all-star festivities the gimmick that made Nashville such a hit.
However, the NHL is playing with fire if it can’t control the process.
The ideal solution might be to have Scott collect the most votes again. The NHL would naturally have a tough time with that if he’s not in the league next season, but he came from the AHL to be at this year’s game.
So there you have it - a true dilemma. “Thumbs up” to the NHL if it follows this year’s heaven-sent success by choosing the right course, and “thumbs down” if the wrong decision is made. Who knows which is which? The NHL might just screw it up properly again.
Triumphant Return
The question asked of me on TSN Radio 1050 was: Which team has your attention as the NHL’s regular season resumes?
And my answer was: Edmonton, because of Connor McDavid.
I’m guessing I wasn’t alone in checking last night’s Oilers’ score before any other.
And sure enough, there was McDavid with a dazzling goal, plus a pair of assists, in Edmonton 5-1 win over Columbus.
(Full disclosure: Since the Leafs were nice enough to head to Boston and make room for Bruce Springsteen at Air Canada Centre, I did extend the all-star break by one more night to travel The River. A review is hard, because the best superlatives our language can offer aren’t sufficient) .
Meanwhile, “thumbs up” to McDavid’s triumphant return. It was the only reason to make an Edmonton-Columbus game stand out, but it was a good one.
The Oilers need their celebrated rookie, the Edmonton fans deserve him and the NHL can certainly use him. The John Scott honeymoon doesn’t last forever.
The hype is, and always was, legitimate. McDavid’s injury was quite devastating, really.
It probably ended Edmonton’s playoff chances. It ended all realistic hope that McDavid could win the Calder Trophy. So what? McDavid is back, and NHL fans get to see the guy who began the season as hockey’s number-one attraction.
There’s no reason to think the injury changed that.