Pacific had reached the final courtesy of a 9-6 victory against Central Division in the semi-final, with Scott weighing in with a couple of goals. I figured I’d end up watching a few minutes, be underwhelmed and then go watch something else.
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With the win for the Pacific Division, which took the final, 1-0, over Patrice Bergeron’s Atlantic, Scott picked up $90,909, not a small amount for a player making $575,000 this season, money that is not subject to escrow. “That’d be ideal”, Scott said. “I don’t know if I expected too much hitting in the All-Star Game, let alone 3-on-3 in the All-Star Game”.
“You can’t make this stuff up”, he said.
Despite the league pulling out all the stops to curb the 33-year-old’s inclusion, the NHL eventually bowed to the fan outcry and Scott’s steadfast desire to participate at All-Star Weekend and captain the Pacific. There were still plenty of clean breakaways, 2-on-1’s, etc, though we didn’t notice any 3-on-0’s, for which the goalies were no doubt pleased. Scott was later traded to the Montreal Canadiens and promptly sent down to their minor league team.
NBC’s Liam McHugh asked Scott who he thinks should portray him in the film. That strengthened his resolved to show up.
He said the attention around Scott has put the IceCaps, and the city of St. John’s, on the map for those who may have been previously unfamiliar with the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador. Roenick changed his opinion after seeing the fun-loving enforcer handle his newfound fame and captivate the crowd. It was a great story. “I was just kind of fed up with it…” He was so inspired by the performance of the All-Star MVP that he took the large piles of snow leftover from a recent winter storm to build John Scott, All-Star Snowman.
The voting results were so overwhelmingly in favor of #VoteMVPScott, with multiple National Hockey League team Twitter accounts leading the charge, that Scott was then considered a “write-in candidate”, and was named MVP a short while later. Bettman says the league is happy to reflect the fans’ will.
The fans at Bridgestone Arena chanted: “M-V-P!” Their inspiration was the 3-on-3 overtime approach for a tournament pitting the four divisions against each other in 20-minute games.
MCEVERS: Tell me what to do. Scott had five goals and six assists in 285 games with Arizona, the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild.
And the six-foot, eight-inch forward has some more fans on the way.
“There is no way John Scott should be in the All-Star game”. He pumped up his team with his leadership and that, ultimately, is what won the game for the Pacific team.
He strongest support group is about to grow by two. His wife is pregnant with twins and due in the next month!
“I had no idea”, Malcolm Subban said. “I can’t even believe this it’s happening”. He might not even return to the NHL at all, but for a man who has dedicated his life to hockey, who worked tirelessly in relative obscurity simply out of love for the game, he exemplified the very best that sports can bring out of us. “And, he really isn’t”.
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The Pacific Division underdogs beat the Atlantic Division on Sunday night to win the All-Star tournament.
