2016 NHL All-Star Game: Winners and Losers from Nashville
Nashville is a heck of a town—just ask any of the journalists who went there to cover the NHL All-Star weekend.
But the party is over, the place is being cleaned up and after a 1-0 Pacific Division victory in the final of the tournament-style contest, the $1 million check has been handed out.
Overall, the weekend was a winner for many individuals and groups. But who were the ultimate winners and losers at the 2016 All-Star Game(s)?
One of them not mentioned is Los Angeles, the location of the next All-Star extravaganza in 2017. The city has a lot to live up to after one of the most memorable All-Star weekends in history.
The rest? Click ahead to find out. And don't forget to add your own suggestions in the comments.
All stats via NHL.com
Winner: Dylan Larkin
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What a year it's been for Detroit Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin. At the break, he sits third in the freshman scoring race with 33 points and a great shot at being a Calder Trophy finalist. He also leads the entire league in plus/minus and is 10th with five game-winning goals.
One of the reasons he's so good is his speed. The 19-year-old Michigan boy is Ferrari fast on skates.
He wasn't even born when Mike Gartner set an All-Star record back in 1996 that stood for 20 years. That single lap of the outside of the ice surface by a 36-year-old Gartner was 13.386. Larkin blew it away with a 13.172 Saturday.
He nearly bailed coming around the net over the last quarter of the race but regained his footing and accelerated to the finish. It was an impressive display from the teenager who should be a mainstay at the All-Star event for years to come.
Capping off his weekend, Larkin set up three of his team's four goals in the Atlantic Division team's two games on Sunday—leading his group in scoring.
Loser: John Gibson
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Anaheim Ducks rookie goaltender John Gibson has been great since being called up from the minors in late November. He's battled for an 11-7-2 record and has the league's best goals-against average of 1.91. He's top 15 with a .923 save percentage as well.
But at the All-Star Skills Competition, the rookie was overwhelmed. He made just two saves on eight breakaway attempts by the Eastern Conference stars and contributed greatly to their massive victory in the skills competition in Nashville on Saturday.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice, and Nicklas Backstrom, Steven Stamkos, Ryan McDonagh and Justin Faulk all earned at least one goal. In fact, the only player who didn't put any pucks behind Gibson was late addition Evgeny Kuznetsov.
He redeemed himself to a degree in game play on Sunday, allowing three goals against in 20 minutes of play and making a great splits stop on Tyler Seguin, but he was a stinker on Saturday. And, by comparison, Atlantic Division goalies Roberto Luongo and Ben Bishop allowed just four goals against combined in their two games Sunday.
Winners: The Goalies in General
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Not only did the goaltenders look pretty solid for most of Sunday's three-on-three action, allowing 23 goals combined in the three mini games, but they also took advantage of the open ice and contributed four assists.
Florida Panthers veteran Roberto Luongo was most impressive, allowing two goals on 22 shots on the day. His Atlantic Division partner, Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, let in two goals on 16 attempts.
Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks teamed up for a shutout in the $1 million final game, turning aside all 17 shots from the Atlantic forwards.
The 2015 All-Star Game was the same boring five-on-five format as the regular season and featured a record-breaking 27 goals a year ago, so this group of eight fared extremely well given the opportunities that come with three-on-three action.
Luongo also gets credit for winning Twitter over the two days.
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Losers: Nashville Predators Fans
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While they did get to see defenseman Shea Weber successfully defend his hardest-shot title and cheer on an all-Preds starting lineup—Weber, Roman Josi, James Neal and goalie Pekka Rinne—for the Central Division in their semifinal against the Pacific Division team, Nashville Predators fans were victims of the tournament-style elimination.
Their Central Division team lost a 9-6 decision to the Pacific Division, and that was it for the cheering opportunities. If there is one negative to be found with the three-on-three, tourney-style All-Star format, it's that so many great players—and in this case, the most popular of all in the hometown favorites—may see limited action during Sunday's main event.
Winner: Mullets
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One of the greatest things about the All-Star events is you get to see—occasionally—players at their most relaxed.
Hair was a popular source of humor at the skills competition, with Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks donning a Chewbacca mask, poking fun at his own out-of-control mop and caveman beard.
The best of the night, though, was P.K. Subban putting on a Florida Panthers jersey and wig that paid tribute to Jaromir Jagr's hair heyday. Subban had the long black pants and Jofa helmet as well, and put the moves on Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne before giving the Jagr Salute to finish things off in style.
For his efforts, Subban was voted the winner of the breakaway challenge with 31 percent of the vote via Twitter.
Loser: Patrice Bergeron
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Backchecking at an NHL All-Star event? Unheard of, right?
Well, apparently Boston Bruins center and perennial Selke Trophy favorite Patrice Bergeron—who has won three of the last four trophies given out to the forward who demonstrates the most defensive skill in the league—thinks the All-Star Game will help him in the voting at the end of the season as he seeks the three-peat.
He was a beast backchecking in games against the Metropolitan Division and Pacific Division teams on Sunday, and there is both anecdotal and photographic evidence (see the picture above) to prove it.
Atlantic goalie Roberto Luongo suggested via Twitter they might have to choose matchups for Bergeron for the final game worth $1 million. Bruins beat writer Amalie Benjamin noted that Bergeron might be breaking some sort of unofficial backcheck record. And even Bergeron told the Bruins' Twitter account folks that other players were trying to persuade him to quit with the responsible play.
What's next? An part-time enforcer getting voted in as a team captain, scoring a pair of goals and winning the All-Star MVP vote?
Winners: The Pacific Division Players
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One. Million. Dollars.
Not a bad prize for the Pacific Division All-Star team members. Many of them are making significant dollars already, but for John Scott, whose salary is $575,000, it represents a bump of about 16 percent for the year.
But it's more than money that makes the Pacific Division winners here. The team played tremendous defense in the final game and developed a bond that has Scott suggesting (via Cristiano Simonetta on Twitter) that the prize money is being pooled for a trip at the end of the season.
It's also a notable accomplishment for the collection of division rivals to come together and beat out the other three division teams in the tournament format with the lowest salary-cap hit of the four.
Losers: Gary Bettman Haters
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Booed by fans at every opportunity in every NHL rink, commissioner Gary Bettman is an easy villain. The face of lockouts. The smarmy faces. The confidence and cockiness he exudes.
But it came out before the All-Star games began on Sunday that Bettman will be tormenting members of his hate club until at least 2022. He apparently signed the extension months ago, but it wasn't publicly revealed until this weekend, per the Associated Press via CBC Sports.
The timing is a little suspect given the hate people were feeling toward him and the NHL over the John Scott ordeal. Perhaps, though, his on-ice exchange with Scott—according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com—during which he apparently told the enforcer he's proud of him will help smooth things over.
Probably not.
Winners: NHL Fans
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Disregarding the John Scott saga, this year's All-Star event stands on its own as an exciting new format that had people glued to their TV sets for the first time in years.
The three-on-three play led to some great offensive displays, but the $1 million prize also seemed to introduce a level of effort that was tangible. Or maybe it was the tournament style that added the edge and desire to win to get into the final.
Either way, fans were big winners on Sunday. They saw two really competitive games and one offensive explosion. They also had a huge role in the outcome, being able to vote for the MVP after determining the teams' captains in the months beforehand.
There's a really good chance this format is here to stay.
Winner: John Scott
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The man who wasn't ever supposed to participate in an event like this, John Scott, captured the attention of the hockey world with his handling of an awkward situation. He almost single-handedly made the weekend one to remember even after the league tried to keep him out of it.
He had a genuine enthusiasm and excitement about being there, demonstrated by things like taking a picture of the horde of reporters at his scrum, or a fake fight with Patrick Kane. He also actually impressed on the ice, scoring a pair of goals on Sunday and earning the fan vote as the All-Star MVP while leading the Pacific Division team he captained to the $1 million bonus.
(For what it's worth, former NHLer Mike Modano suggested via Twitter that his teammates give up their share and offer it all to Scott.)
Scott's teammates carried him on their shoulders around the ice 'Rudy' style, and his helmet is going to the Hall of Fame, according to Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada.
The Hockey News' Matt Larkin went so far as to suggest that Scott made this the best NHL All-Star event in history.
We're inclined to agree.
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