The NHL offered Canadiens LW John Scott, an enforcer voted an All-Star captain by fans, and his family a "free trip to the game -- the ability to participate in the weekend without play," but it is uncertain whether that offer "still exists," according to sources cited by Elliotte Friedman of SPORTSNET.ca. It is also "uncertain if the league added other incentives, such as a winner’s share of the All-Star money or another family vacation at another time." The other unknown is "how the conversations with the league went." The NHL was "not successful in getting him to step away, but there have been rumours those talks did not go well at all." Scott, who has been "suspended three times, losing almost $80,000 in salary, may not have been too inclined to listen." Scott was slated to serve as the captain of the Pacific Division team, representing the Coyotes, before he was traded to the Canadiens on Friday. Coyotes Exec VP & GM Don Maloney "admits he considered not making" the trade until after the All-Star Game. But he said that there is "'no way' he would intentionally bury" Scott in the AHL so he "couldn’t go." Maloney: "To suggest that this was part of us not wanting him in All-Star, or to be working in the NHL. ... I’m dumbfounded by that" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/16). ESPN.com's Scott Burnside noted Scott on Friday was sent to the AHL by the Canadiens after the trade and "might not be called back up." If he is not recalled by the Canadiens, he "won't be eligible for the All-Star Game" (ESPN.com, 1/15).
WHY SO SERIOUS? In Edmonton, Jonathan Willis wrote NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is the "public face of a league which is often both mean-spirited and inept." The league's efforts to keep Scott from playing in the game is the NHL "baring its soul to the hockey world, revealing once again the kind of entity that it is." It is "selfish, willing to disregard the expressed will of its fans in even the smallest and least important of matters." Only a "petty and small-minded entity could be so utterly incapable of laughing at itself over a matter as inconsequential as the All-Star Game" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 1/16). TSN.ca's Dave Hodge wrote this is a time "for the NHL to blame itself." Hodge: "For everything. For foolishly ignoring the possibility that fans would try to make a mockery of the All-Star selections." The NHL "could have controlled the voting by preparing a ballot that included legitimate All-Star candidates only," but it "didn’t bother." At the first sign of the Scott movement, the league "could have issued a statement that said All-Star participation would require a certain number of games played." Once the NHL "appeared to accept the consequences of its ways, it should have taken its lumps and played Scott’s All-Star appearance for the fun it could have been." Instead, the league "gets the quickest 'thumbs down' imaginable for trying to convince Scott to bow out and then for orchestrating his trade to Montreal" (TSN.ca, 1/17). In Phoenix, Paola Boivin wrote under the header, "NHL Needs To Do The Right Thing With John Scott." She wrote, "The All-Star Game is supposed to be about fun. Sacred? Puh-lease." If it "was that sacred, the league wouldn’t keep trying to reinvent it." Now, the "stink of conspiracy exists" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/17).
GRAPES' GRIPE: The CBC's Don Cherry said of the fans who voted for Scott, "You jerks, put him up to be in the All-Star game. What you've done, you've taken this kid who was doing pretty good playing six minutes, played 12 minutes, didn't matter. He's in Arizona, NHL contract. What you did was you took and put him in the minors now. I'm sure he's got a two-way contract and he's making (AHL) money. Lots of fun, aye?" ("Hockey Night in Canada," Sportsnet, 1/16).
