All-star game questions and picks!

November 11, 2011   Uncategorized   21 views

Why not have some all-star fun

The all-star ballot has been released by the NHL. Some have questioned the inclusion of Sidney Crosby, as he has yet to play a game (like anyone in the hockey universe needed to be told that), among other factors. Voting does not begin until December 14th, and in that vein, I thought we might have a bit of fun:

First: one issue that has been brought to the spotlight by the blogosphere is the ballot format. This is the sixth year in a row that the NHL has used online voting system and some have begun to question the necessity of a ballot. With the online player voting system in place, do we the fans really need to be told who to vote for? A proposed system would simply do away with the “eligible” names for the ballot and let us write in whomever we like. This could lend itself to more accuracy in selection and give the fans more agency in deciding who plays (although the write in ballot does allow some freedom, it is somewhat limiting). In the internet era, do we really need to be told who is a potential all-star ?

Second: Is the fan selection really a valid and reliable system? As we all saw from the fiasco with Montreal almost getting their entire roster on the all-star team a couple season back, is the fan voting system really democratic? What chances do players in insignificant markets (read: the Bettman-belt teams) really have when compared to the voting power of northerners? Perhaps the fan should play a more diminutive role in the decision making. How do you think we could improve the system?

Third: some HTR fun. Once you’ve addressed either, both, or none of the above points, state who you would put on the ballot of eligible players if the voting were open today. I suggest a slightly modified format of 2 players form every forward position, three for defense, and two goaltender. You could do one per conference, but with the draft style game in mind, I recommend keeping it to eleven players, forcing difficult decisions.

So:

Center 1
Center 2
Left Wing 1
Left Wing 2
Right Wing 1
Right Wing 2
Defenseman 1
Defenseman 2
Defenseman 3
Goalie 1
Goalie 2

Thanks for reading, no go debate!

-JoelLeafs