All-Star Game

For the first time in recent memory the NHL will gather tonight to celebrate its brightest young stars and the excitement they are bringing to the league; too bad Leafs fans have nothing to cheer for. Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL brass are hoping that tonight’s performance in Dallas will show off the new, fast paced, high scoring game; a game they paid a very high price to get. The 2004-2005 lockout severely tarnished its image, burned loyal fans and firmly planted hockey at bottom of the pile in the big 4 North American leagues. Since then, the NHL has worked overtime to try and improve its image as “family friendly” entertainment while still keeping its traditional fan base. The referees are still calling close games, scoring is up (almost 10 players have a legitimate shot at 100 points) and the shootout has to be considered a complete success. Mark Cuban (who should be GIVEN an NHL franchise) recently pointed out that if you take a wider look at the North American audience, the hockey game of the week actually draws more fans than the NBA’s biggest game. That doesn’t mean that hockey will be the next big sport in America, but it is a fact that needs to be publicized. Americans like to watch what they think is popular and no league exploits this better than the NFL. The NFL has created its own super-hype machine that manages to work millions of Americans into a frenzy every Sunday. The NHL has a long way to go to match that and owners like Mark Cuban would help. Tonight’s game will be a big, Texas sized, celebration that the All-Star game is back; even if it is televised on the Versus network.

Meanwhile, here in Toronto, the outlook is bleak. The perennial All-Stars that Leafs fans took for granted are gone and even the great captain didn’t make the 21 man, Eastern Confrence roster. The smooth skating Tomas Kaberle has the honour of representing Toronto this year and likely will be alone in that role for the next couple years. Mats Sundin’s days in a Maple Leafs jersey are numbered and a look further down the roster reveals other no legitimate, All-Star caliber players. Tucker should be released at the end of the year and allowed to spend the rest of his career remembering how the only goal he can score comes from Sundin’s bullet passes. McCabe is one of the most over paid defensemen in the league. He is only a plus 3 and wouldn’t even have 20 points if he wasn’t allowed to play every minute of every power play. The younger players are also taking longer than anticipated to mature. Wellwood looked great playing the shifty centre between the two towers of Antropov and Ponikarovsky, but that entire line can’t stay healthy. Alex Steen and Matt Stajan have both taken steps backwards this year and Raycroft may never be more than an average net minder. These are not the pieces to build a playoff team around, let alone a champion.

To say that Toronto is being left behind in the new NHL would be a drastic understatement. There are some pieces to work with and a great teaching coach to shape a new young team but Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment has to make the only decision left to them; trade away the veterans and start over. The Raptors have done this and have created a positive atmosphere and the fans are buying into it. Any rational Leafs fan knows that they don’t have a chance to win the cup if they continue in this direction. Starting over will give the Toronto hope and may just send a couple players to the All-Star game in the process.