Perhaps you'll recall a story from a couple of seasons back, when Jordan Binnington had issued a challenge to pop music icon and Maple Leafs super fan Justin Bieber, suggesting that if Bieber could score a goal on him, he'd dye his hair platinum blonde. Well, Binnington is attempting to revive the challenge, knowing full well that Bieber will be taking part in the All-Star festivities in a couple of weeks.
At the time of the original challenge, Bieber had responded to Binnington suggesting that rather than a little hair dye, they raise the stakes a little bit. Bieber proposed that he receive 10 shootout attempts against Binnington, a former Stanley Cup champion. If he scores, Binnington would have to donate $10,000 to a charity of Bieber's choosing. If he didn't, he'd donate $10,000 to a charity of Binnington's choosing.
On January 10th, Binnington posted the following message to fans, lobbying for All-Star fan votes to get voted in as one of the final 12 participants, so he'd have a chance to make good on the bet with Bieber.
At this point, it's anyone's guess is Binnington gets in. As of January 9th, Binnington wasn't even close to being in the running, with at least 8 NHL goalies ahead of him in votes - possibly more.
For all of the talk of what a sideshow the All-Star Game has become, I'm not sure we really need a Bieber vs Binnington shootout challenge added. In my opinion, if the two really want to do this, they can do it as its own separate charity event and raise even more money for charity. They certainly don't need to hijack the All-Star Game for this shootout challenge to take place. Just my two cents.
