Monday, November 14, 2011

Shameful NHL All-Star Ballot

This may be a bold statement, but the NHL has once again proven to me how shamefully biased they can be. Just look at the NHL All-Star Game Ballot. Why is Sidney Crosby on the ballot? He's played zero games this year, and should not be voted over player who has played more games than Crosby. Unless Crosby decides to score 20 or 30 goals before January, he should be out of the game this year. And it isn't just him either. I also found Rangers Defenseman Marc Staal on the ballot. I said to myself, 'hm, I didn't know he was playing this year.' As it turned out, I was right. I checked on Staal's stats; he has played in zero games. Why is he on the ballot then? Don't accuse me of being biased, being 'anti-Crosby' or any of that other knowledge. You want to know what I am? I'm anti-biased. Crosby and Staal's presence on the ballot makes it obvious that the NHL is biased and plays favorites. Crosby is on the ballot because he's Crosby and has had great years in the past. However, this is an All-Star Game, that involves the best players from the CURRENT year, not the previous year. I don't look at Stamkos and his 95 goals in the past six years when I vote for him. I analyze him and his 10 goals from THIS year. I'm not looking at track records, I vote according to this year. Marc Staal is on the ballot only because his older brother, Eric Staal, has been quietly great in Carolina for the past few years. I mean, even Staal himself isn't on the ballot. Why is his brother on it? If you're telling me that Marc Staal, who has played ZERO games this year, makes the team over Eric, who has worked hard to try to push his Hurricanes team to the next level, you must not have perspective. Any reasonable person would agree that it is unfair that Marc Staal has a spot on the ballot over Eric Staal. The NHL needs to change the All-Star voting because I don't want to see a bunch of celebrities skating on the ice (for that, just lace up Justin Bieber and Wiz Khalifa and throw em on the ice). I want to see the BEST players in the league, not the most popular. I think the league should set up a committee within themselves to vote in the majority of the All-Star teams, giving us the choice to ONLY vote in 6 players. I think that is fair, but the NHL will likely never move to that alternative.

Be sure to vote via vote.nhl.com. Plus, follow me on Twitter for more news: @Gabriel0430

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