Marc Giordano said “the fans voted him in for a reason”, while Roberto Luongo said “a lot of the (negative treatment) he has been receiving is undeserving”. “I told the fans, ‘Listen”.
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National Hockey League rules call for players selected as All-Stars to sit out one regular-season game if they skip the event, as Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews are doing. He doesn’t really represent any National Hockey League team. Scott took a shot at the National Hockey League in a first-person story posted Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, by The Players Tribune.
The teams were drawn up after a meeting of division captains.
“I think he was anxious about me not feeling welcome here and being uncomfortable”, Scott, 33, said. But, what happens next in this ordeal is absurd. His All-Star Game ticket was seemingly being ripped away from him in the cruelest and most unfair way possible.
Nicklas Backstrom is the point-a-game playmaker who toils in the large shadow of Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin, goal-scoring rock star and a constant headliner on the NHL’s marquee.
“I’m excited to see how tough it’s going to be”, said Aaron Ekblad, the Florida defenseman and Jagr’s teammate.
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The NHL has treated Scott like dog shit during this ordeal.
While Ovechkin would have been a big draw in the Skills Competition, the likes of Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin and Evgeni Malkin are sure to bring something special to the event, while P.K. Subban will be one to keep an eye on given his sense of style and fun.
It was those barbs that inspired Scott to write a piece for the Players’ Tribune Thursday, telling his side of the controversy.
There’s some colorful language in it, but it’s more than appropriate, especially when describing the moment he was informed that he had been traded.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a potentially fun weekend for all involved – one last hurrah before the season kicks into overdrive… one last game that doesn’t matter before they all do.
“Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?”.
How he got there is irrelevant. “They can skate and do different things”. “But I’m going to enjoy this weekend, then I’m going back to the real world”.
“I’m an National Hockey League player – and, whatever my set of skills may be, that I’m an National Hockey League player is no accident”.
In theory, that would seem valid. If all you know about John Scott is what you remember from that silly 2013 preseason brawl in Toronto when Phil Kessel tried to tomahawk chop his legs, there’s a lot more to him.
In practice, the theory rings hollow.
“I don’t think I’m going to play much 3-on-3”.
For example: Brandon Dubinsky’s repeated assaults on Sidney Crosby that go (mostly) unpunished.
Scott, the ultimate fourth-liner, had a good laugh when that comment was relayed to him. When Laich works on the penalty kill he sees how Backstrom moves opponents around to exactly where he wants them. He’s still beloved in Nashville, and it’s probably a pretty safe bet that the ovation he’ll receive on Saturday and Sunday will be one of the loudest. But if I have no choice, I love the idea of the all-stars and I think it’s good for the fans, but at my age, personally, I know what I need for the rest of the season and the playoffs …
“He was there when I came into the league as a rookie in Chicago, in my first training camp”.
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The NHL and Nashville Predators unveiled 30,000-square feet of renovated space at the Nashville Inner City Ministry as part of the 2016 NHL All-Star Legacy Family Life Center. If he doesn’t, it’s okay.
