I mean no disrespect to the NHL or hockey in general. In fact, hockey is one of my favorite sports. I watch at least a couple of games a week, and come playoff time I hardly ever leave the couch. But the NHL All-Star Game is so freakin lame, you just can’t get excited about it. If a serious fan like me had no idea the game would be on January 29 until about January 22, how earth does the NHL think they’re going to attract any casual fans?

And the thing is, the NHL doesn’t need this silly nonsense. Take it away, and I guarantee no one would miss it. So I think it’s time they put an end to the whole thing and let us all move on with our lives.

But just in case you’re not sold yet on the idea of scrapping the NHL All-Star Game, here are 9 reasons why the league needs to pull the plug.

The Examiner is reporting that E! Online had some interesting things to ask and tell Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks (I wonder if they even know that hockey is played with a stick and puck).

It was amusing to watch the crew from E! interview Thornton.  They informed him that they had decided he was one of the “Hot Guys in Hockey” and wanted to know how he felt about it.

What’s he going to say?  Being the nice guy that he is Thornton said he was flattered.  As if that wasn’t enough, E! then asked him who else in the NHL he thought was hot…and being a good sport he answered Luongo, “a nice, dark, good-looking Italian guy.”

Immediately following the fluff questions, Thornton was asked by the Canadian media who at the game really stood out in his mind as outstanding players.  First guy Thornton names is Luongo again.

I couldn’t resist when my turn came then to ask him what he thought the odds were that a guy he thought was hot was also good?

He said maybe I shouldn’t quite word it quite that way.

I wonder how the rest of the NHL All Stars will take Joe Thornton’s comments?

Being a former hockey player myself you can bet this will not go down lightly.  Hockey players are infamous for their chirping and at times it can get out of hand. We’ll just have to wait and see how everyone will react to Joe’s statements.

Campbell said the league’s general managers agreed last February that a player who misses the all-star game must sit out the regular-season game just before or just after it to demonstrate he is really injured.

NHL fans may think their is a little bit of favoritism here because Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby also chose to skip the All Star game because of an ongoing knee problems.  Campbell decided not to suspend Sidney Crosby because he choose to attend the NHL all-star festivities even though he was not playing.

This is a great move by Crosby as he is loved around the world.  NHL fans go out to games just to watch him, so by attending the NHL All Star festivities he is showing that he loves his fans.  A great move by a great player!

It would be wrong to place the blame on these players, for many reasons. They have a commitment to their home team, these players may be leaned on by upper management to not play in the game. It would be difficult to more or less force these superstars to participate in a game that is a showcase of individual skill. The question in this case is who really gets hurt by the decision for these stars to not participate? The fans would love to see their favorite players, however, it is the NHL that suffers. They invest alot of money into the preparation and setup of this event and they expect a big return in marketing deals.

The idea that has been swirling around is to introduce an alternate event to take the place of the All Star Game. The idea of having the World Cup of Hockey at mid season. This idea to me is preposterous and not well thought out. They want to introduce a competitive tournament at mid season, an event where national pride is at stake, where blood, sweat and tears are left out on the ice after each game, are they crazy? Why in their right minds would the NHL consider this?

The thought that at the midway point of the regular season the NHL wants to separate the players that have been playing with each other to this point and have them compete against each other. Line mates that have built chemistry through the first 41 games asked to join a pair of countrymen. Let us put this into prospective, your asking Sidney Crosby to dawn the red and white and play against Evgeni Malkin in a competitive game.

Other ideas include setting up a hockey convention for the weekend, does this only sound boring to me? If that is the best idea the NHL can come up with they have the wrong people fronting this. Where is your creativity NHL? Why not just setup an antique show outside the stadium, atleast that may actually drive some people to come.

If the NHL wants to add the thrill back to the All Star Game they need to spark a competitive edge, baseball had the same problem a few years back. Why not borrow their idea, the winner of the All-Star Game gets home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals. What is the advantage in that, you ask, well let us take a look at NHL teams home record versus their road record, 390-226-85 versus 310-315-73. Problem Solved!

Montreal, the city host of the All Star game has decided on nominating four individuals from their home town team to take part in this event.  Alex Kovalev, Carey Price, Mike Komisarek, and Andrei Markov are fortunate enough to play in front of their loyal Canadian fans however, do these Montreal Canadiens players deserve it? Sure Alex Kovalev has experienced the thrill of being in an All Star game in the past, but why should he be attending this year’s? Last hear he tallied 35 goals in 82 games for the Habs; this year he has only put up 12 goals in 44 games. Conversely, Patrick Marleau, the captain for the best team in the Western conference has 24 goals and 49 points in 44 games, so why is he snubbed out of a player slot?

Steve Mason plays for the 10th seeded Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western conference, and he still manages to post up a league leading average of 1.91 goals against per game. Yet, even though he is Canadian, he is has not been voted in.

One of the players that is not attending the exciting game is Henrik Zetterberg. Not only is he a key factor in making his team being one of the best in the league, he is one of the most exciting players to watch when he controls the puck on his stick. Zetterberg is a natural goal scorer that has 42 points in 43 games and is still snubbed out of a position.

It obviously shows that the players who attend the NHL All Star game are the most popular ones in the game and are not the individuals who work hard all year earn the points and put up great statistics.