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News feed unavailable at this time. | Your New NHL All-Star MVP: Marian Gaborik Gets the Car
Because the award has long been sponsored by an auto company, the Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game is sometimes referred to as the guy who gets the truck.
The vehicle is usually wheeled out to center ice for a photo op with the MVP, as it was in 2009 when hometown sniper Alexei Kovalev got the truck in Montreal.
But corporate sponsors are a fickle bunch, and now they've opted to give away cars instead of trucks.
"The guy who gets the car" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
In any case, Marian Gaborik got the car on Sunday.
The New York Rangers forward had a hat trick and an assist in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game.
That makes him the 44th All-Star MVP since the award was introduced in 1962.
Gaborik joins a list that includes the expected names (Howe, Hull, Orr, Gretzky) and a few unexpected ones as well (Greg Polis, Eric Daze).
The list also provides the answer to a good trivia question: who was the first MVP of an NHL All Star Game?
It's a name fondly remembered by many Maple Leaf fans.
NHL All-Star Game MVPs Since 1962
2012 NHL All-Star Game: Rosters and Scoring Summary
A History of the NHL All Star Game
Photo: Marian Gaborik gets his odd-looking trophy and a set of keys. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images). Your New NHL All-Star MVP: Marian Gaborik Gets the Car originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 14:05:24. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| Calling All Stars Since 1934: A History of the NHL All Star Game
It's nearly 80 years since Eddie Shore took down Irvine "Ace" Bailey with a slew foot, ending Bailey's NHL career and nearly ending his life.
And that's how the NHL All-Star Game was born.
The idea was surely already percolating - the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game had been played the previous summer.
But Shore's cheap shot and Bailey's brain surgery quickened the agenda.
Two months after the incident, on February 14, 1934, the NHL staged the Ace Bailey Benefit Game.
The Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs hosted a team of "All-Stars" from the rest of the league, with Bailey in attendance to present the jerseys and shake hands with everyone - including Eddie Shore.
Other benefit games followed, in the wake of other tragedies, before the All-Star showcase was adopted as an annual event in 1947.
Continue reading...
Photo: Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were linemates at the 1997 NHL All Star Game in San Jose. (Glenn Cratty/Getty Images). Calling All Stars Since 1934: A History of the NHL All Star Game originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 09:42:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| Time to Load Up on NHL Trade Rumors
The hockey calendar continues to unfold, with all eyes now turning to the NHL Trade Deadline.
(The trade deadline is often characterized as "Christmas for hockey fans," though the offerings under the tree can be very meager in some years.)
February 27 is the big day, the final chance for disappointed non-playoff teams to dump the excess baggage, and for optimistic playoff-bound teams to take it on.
So Tim Gleason, Hal Gill, Teemu Selanne, Drew Stafford, Sam Gagner, Marek Zidlicky, Ales Hemsky, Bobby Ryan, Josh Harding, Ryan Suter, and many others are advised to avoid major purchases and keep an overnight bag packed for the next few weeks.
Photo: Will Bobby Ryan (L) and Ryan Suter have new homes by the end of February? (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Time to Load Up on NHL Trade Rumors originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 13:20:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| For What It's Worth, Here's Your 2012 NHL All Stars
Google "NHL All Star snub" and you'll find much debate over who does or doesn't deserve to be in Ottawa on the last weekend in January.
It's an obligatory, empty talking point in every hockey season.
Almost nobody cares who suits up for the NHL All Star Game, and nobody expects to see the 40 or 50 top players based on a half-season of performance.
But it's big media event, with reporters flocking to All Star weekend like birds to a wire.
So for a few days in January, everyone has to keep up the pretense that it's about hockey.
It's not. It's a party. Here's the complete list of who's invited this year.
2012 NHL All Star Game Roster and Voting Results
Schedule of events:
- Thursday, January 26, 8:00 PM ET: All Star Player Fantasy Draft
- Saturday, January 28, 7:00 PM ET: All Star Skills Competition (CBC, RDS, NBC Sports Network)
- Sunday, Jan. 29, 4:00 PM ET: 2012 NHL All Star Game (CBC, RDS, NBC Sports Network)
Photo: Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks at the 2011 NHL All Star Game (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images). For What It's Worth, Here's Your 2012 NHL All Stars originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 17:55:40. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| Another NHL Lockout? Here's the Five Issues They Have to Resolve.
If hockey's chattering classes are to be believed, last week marks the beginning of a new NHL labor war.
The NHL Players' Association wouldn't sign off on the league's conference realignment plan. So the league shelved the scheme, and got a bit snippy about it.
The first step to an inevitable shutdown when the collective agreement expires in September?
Or just another ordinary episode in what has always been a testy relationship?
Unless one side or the other is hellbent on breaking the entire system, the next NHL CBA will come down to five major issues.
If they can find compromise in those areas, NHL hockey will begin on time in the fall of 2012.
See Also:
Photo: Could the next NHL collective agreement seal the fate of Shane Doan and his Phoenix Coyotes? (Christian Petersen/Getty Images.) Another NHL Lockout? Here's the Five Issues They Have to Resolve. originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 08:27:13. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| Spectacular Vistas at the NHL Winter Classic
By now we know what to expect from the NHL Winter Classic: Not much of a hockey game, but spectacular vistas and plenty of novelty appeal.
So it was at the fifth annual on Monday, as the Rangers beat the Flyers 3-2 at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia.
We've added images from the day to our Winter Classic Photo Gallery, which features photos dating back to the NHL's original outdoor game in 2003.
Photo: An infared camera produces this image of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, as a crowd of 49,967 takes in the fifth NHL Winter Classic (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images). Spectacular Vistas at the NHL Winter Classic originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 21:13:18. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| Hockey in the Great Wide Open
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic helped rob the league of its best player.
But enthusiasm for the annual outdoor game remains undiminished.
Monday's 2012 Winter Classic will be a media and sponsorship bonanza for the NHL, because it's guaranteed to look great on TV.
Outdoor hockey always looks great, even in the rain.
For proof, look no further than our NHL Winter Classic Photo Gallery, a survey of brilliant images dating back to the league's first-ever outdoor game in 2003.
See Jose Theodore in his iconic toque, winter twilight in Chicago, fireworks at Fenway, and much more.
As the Flyers and Rangers play the 2012 game on Monday afternoon, we'll update the gallery with photos from Heinz Field in Philadelphia.
Photo: Game on at Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings played the 2009 NHL Winter Classic. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images). Hockey in the Great Wide Open originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Sunday, January 1st, 2012 at 00:01:55. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship: Three to Watch
Last week we considered the impressive list of players who aren't available for the World Junior (under-20) Hockey Championship, which began Boxing Day in Calgary and Edmonton.
Guys like Tyler Seguin and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are young enough to join their national teams. But they've already graduated to the NHL.
Rather than dwell on what might have been, let's turn our attention to three players who return from last year's junior event, three who are well-schooled in the wild ride the tournament annually proves to be.
That list is led by American goaltender Jack Campbell.
Having led the USA to a Gold Medal as a 17-year-old, and a Bronze Medal at the age of 18, Campbell returns for one more year.
His experience, and that of several other American returnees, gives the team a decided edge.
Even more intriguing is the return of Canadian goalie Mark Vistenin.
He was the man at the center of an epic collapse in the 2012 Gold Medal game.
Vistenin's attempt to shake off that nightmare will be one of this year's central stories.
Russia was the beneficiary of the 2011 Canadian meltdown, fashioning one of the great comebacks in recent history.
They couldn't have done it without Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had three assists in the Gold Medal game and finished second in tournament scoring.
Kuznetsov is the only returnee on what should be another strong Russian entry, and will surely be a central figure in his team's defense of the World title.
(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images) 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship: Three to Watch originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 17:48:29. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship: Who's Missing
The standard plug for the annual World Junior Hockey Championship is that it showcases the NHL stars of tomorrow: the best under-20 players in the game.
But that's not as true as it used to be.
Today's NHL is faster and younger, a shift dating back to the 2005 lockout, the resulting salary cap, and the new rules adopted when the league resumed.
The 18 or 19-year-old NHL player is no longer a rarity, as evidenced by the list of those who won't be available when the 2012 World Junior begins on Boxing Day.
Justin Faulk could have led the defense corps for Team USA. But he's busy playing a top-four role with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Gabriel Landeskog and Adam Larsson are arguably the two best juniors Sweden has to offer. But we'll never know, because Landeskog has a job in Colorado and Larsson leads all New Jersey defensemen in ice time.
As usual, the Canadian juniors take the biggest hit. If not for NHL obligations, Canada's roster would be bolstered by up to half a dozen under-20 stars.
The top forward lines would potentially be manned by Jeff Skinner (Carolina Hurricanes), Tyler Seguin (Boston Bruins), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers), Ryan Johansen (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers). Erik Gudbranson (Florida Panthers) would log big minutes on the blue line.
So who will be there?
Plenty of great players you've never heard of, plus a handful of guys who qualify as World Junior veterans.
Later we'll look at three of the more intriguing stories to watch at the 2012 World Juniors, featuring three players who know the highs and lows of one of hockey most entertaining events.
(Photo: Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship: Who's Missing originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 at 21:31:11. Permalink | Comment | Email this
| The NHL's Concussion Crisis: Now What?
Whether it's head shots, legal versus illegal hits, appropriate punishment for dirty players, or anything else to do with physical hockey, you won't find any agreement in the NHL.
- December, 2009
If NHL executives are ready to take the (concussion) problem seriously - and it's hard to imagine they need any further incentive - it's time they abandoned their piecemeal approach or head injuries.
- February, 2011
(T)he bottom line is that some hits considered legal last season should be deemed illegal this season.
- September, 2011
Let's give the NHL a little credit.
In just a couple of years, we've seen considerable evolution in the accepted attitude towards head shots and head injuries.
The once dominant old-school guys ("It's a man's game! Take your lumps!") have finally backed off in the face of growing medical evidence about the grim consequences of repeated blows to the noggin.
But despite the nudge towards enlightenment, the NHL's concussion problem looms larger than ever.
The list of stars currently felled by head injuries reads like a Hart Trophy ballot:
Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Jeff Skinner, Mike Richards, Chris Pronger are among those out with concussions or related symptoms.
Maybe the new rules aren't being enforced strictly enough, maybe the players have been unable to adjust.
Or maybe, as a growing number are beginning to suspect, hockey is simply a much more dangerous game than anyone knew.
(A case in point: You'll never come up with a rule to prevent Giroux's concussion: the league's leading scorer was hurt by a knee to the head from a guy on his own team.)
If that's the case, we might have to start thinking of concussions as a risk that every hockey player has to accept.
And as the medical evidence accumulates, fans might have to accept lengthy concussion layoffs and shortened careers as a fairly common part of the game.
Photo: Bruins' forward Marc Savard is wheeled from the ice in March, 2010. His hockey career is likely over (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images). The NHL's Concussion Crisis: Now What? originally appeared on About.com Hockey on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 22:47:30. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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