Analyst outlines genius plan for an entertaining All-Star weekend in Toronto next year
With the All-Star weekend behind us and some of us looking beyond to next year's event where it will be held in Toronto, there is already a conversation being had on how to improve the event as a whole, from skills competition to the game itself. This year was another embarrassing showing and with Toronto having their first crack at the whip since 2000, maybe big things are in store.
Dan O'Toole took to Twitter to list some of the ways the NHL should look to take advantage of the event. Toronto being the hockey hub of Canada - maybe of the league - will have all eyes positioned on them after a lacklustre affair this year.
For starters, O'Toole mentions that they should have it at the Dome with 50,000 people on hand. Concert lighting, each skill having it's own designated area, and no waiting around for the next event since they have their own spots.
He continues by saying that each event should have its own spotlight and that if it's supposed to be for the kids, then Nickelodeon should run it instead of having players come up with their own gimmicks and skits - which usually don't hit. With Nickelodeon being a big part of this idea, they should see who can put on their equipment the fastest, who can skate on slime, players getting slimed, etc. He also wants the winner for each skill competition to win something big like a boat, car, or truck.
Hitching onto the idea that players win something massive for each competition, he believes that sponsors would be all over this idea and would be willing to go above and beyond. If a player breaks a record then everyone in attendance would win something as well. Just makes things that much more spectacular with 50,000 people on hand.
As for the game he wants teams to be picked on Friday night by drawing names out of a hat. He wants 10 teams, no conferences, no divisions, just a free for all. It would add to the spectacle, it would take away the boring gimmicks of the 3 on 3 team aspect, and it might bring about more prideful games.
He wants the game to be "pond style", so first team to 10 wins, no offsides, no face-offs, race back to centre after you score, as this would provide non-stop action and make things more fun for the people who want this game to be different than what we've already seen and what other sports do.
He finished it off by adding that the soccer skills/practicing that players do before games or for warm-ups should be added to the skills competition for more eyeballs, more fun, and adding a different twist to an otherwise mundane event.
At this rate, the NHL should at least consider some of these - if not all of them - because they know how upset fans and media members alike have been with the weekend as a whole. The skills competition wasn't even able to bring about fans, it was gimmicky, mundane, boring, and no one tried, which was very obvious and hurt the weekend as a whole.
| POLL | ||
5 FEVRIER | 215 ANSWERS Analyst outlines genius plan for an entertaining All-Star weekend in Toronto next year Would you watch an All-Star experience like this one?? | ||
| 100% | 52 | 24.2 % |
| No, the NHL would find a way to botch it | 69 | 32.1 % |
| All-Star Games stink in general | 94 | 43.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
