For years sports leagues have looked to take all-star voting to the masses by offering online votes. No longer restricted to fans in attendance at games having to punch holes out of a ballot with their keys, fans can now cast a ballot (two or five or 25 per email address) whenever they wish by using the Internet. The NHL is the latest league to see the Internet stuff the ballot box with Arizona Coyotes 6′-8″ defenseman John Scott being voted a captain for this year’s NHL All-Star Game.
Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! is credited with planting the seed for this all-star ballot stuffing plan. He mentioned it might be entertaining to see the physical Scott take the ice in the brand new three-on-three format. The idea spread like a wildfire, including on Reddit. Of course, not everybody is looking forward to going up against Scott in the all-star game…
Fans-I was afraid,that 3on3 all-Star game may kill me,now,I am more afraid,fighting John Scott 6,8 300 during All-Star, kill me for sure
— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) January 2, 2016
Unlike a simple Heisman vote that saw Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds pulled from the system, the NHL let this one slide. Hey, the all-star game is supposed to be for the fans and for fun, right? It’s not like home ice in the Stanley Cup Finals is on the line for the winning team. The NHL has never been afraid to try new things with the all-star game, something Major League Baseball could perhaps learn from, and it seems the NHL has a bit of a sense of humor as well which is good to see.
About Kevin McGuire
Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.