The NHL All-Star weekend is a reason to let the players go to the Olympics

The New York Rangers were represented by one player at the 2020 All-Star Game, but even if they had a half dozen players, it wouldn’t have made the event more entertaining.

For fans of the New York Rangers there was little to no suspense at the NHL All-Star weekend. As soon as Mathew Barzal eclipsed Chris Kreider‘s time in the fastest skater competition, there was little reason for any partisan interest.  Watching the festivities, it’s all the more reason that the NHL has to commit to allowing their players to go to the 2022 Olympics.

Honestly, does any New York Rangers fan really care if the Metropolitan  Division will win the four team round robin?  Furthermore, does anyone really think that the four on four mini-games are anything more than a shooting contest where the primary goal is to not get injured?

It’s sad to say, but the gimmicky skills competition on Friday night was the more entertaining of the two nights of activities. Never mind that it’s a misnomer to call Barzal the fastest skater in the NHL or that Shea Weber has the hardest shot.  They were only the best of the players invited to the weekend showcase.

As a matter fact, the best hockey of the weekend was the three-on-three game between the women representing Canada and the USA.  Watching that game, you had the feeling that the teams actually wanted to win the game and there was a deep-seated rivalry at work.

Recently, the All-Star game has been a lemon for the NHL  The format that worked best was when the game featured the Stanley Cup Champions versus a collection of all stars in a game that was played before the start of the season.

Since expansion, the format has been mostly geographical, pitting Conferences against each other in what were ultimately, totally boring matches.  The best All-Star iterations were the games that featured NHL all stars playing against the best from the Soviet Union and the the games that feature all star teams from North America versus Europe.   When natural rivalries exist, there’s a reason to play.  You cannot expect Chris Kreider and T.J. Oshie to bond in an effort to defeat Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner.

The Olympics

While it is unlikely that the league will abandon its all-star game format, the only hope for fans is that the players be allowed to participate in the Olympics every four years.   While the players are clearly in favor of going to the Olympics, the league is reluctant to break up the season for a two week period every four years.

Considering that the Rangers are off for nine straight days this season, would it be so awful to tack on a few more days so hockey fans can see the best in the world compete for their native countries?

The NHL allowed its players to go to every Olympics from 1998 to 2014, but declined in 2018 when the Olympics were in Pyeongchang, South Korea.  The reasons were travel, cost and logistics, issues that will be facing the league in 2022 when the games are in Beijing.

While it was an easy decision for Alex Ovechkin to skip the All-Star Game this weekend, there is no way he would pass up on the opportunity to win a gold medal for Russia. The beauty of hockey is its speed, physicality and the passion of its players.  It’s been a long time since those attributes were used to talk about an all star weekend, but that what the Olympics are all about.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has given the NHL until August to make a decision on whether it will allow players to go.  Let’s hope they make the right decision.