Gary Bettman tries to cover up worst All-Star draw of all time, but the joke is on him because people definitely noticed

Unfortunately for him, it was dress like a seat night at FLA Live Arena. When the skills competition started last night, half of the lower bowl was almost completely empty. Now of course, viewers couldn't see just how empty it was because that side was the broadcasting side. As Bettman tried to cover up what he will call a "successful" weekend.

Well, not only did the event itself lack attendance, but it was noticeably cheesier than in years prior. Not only did fans notice, but even some NHLers who were not present at the event chose to chime in on social media.

About midway through the skills competition, fans in the upper bowl were asked to move down to fill the essentially empty lower bowl (I was one of them). It made things look better on tv, but it didn't change the fact that about half the arena was still empty.

Bettman continues to behave as though hockey is thriving in certain markets, while the upper half of the revenue generating teams in the league continue to foot the bill and prop up these struggling markets. It's embarrassing, really.