The John Scott Situation

[Fradi]

What some forget is that Scott is a human being. Yes, he's a goon, but off the ice he could be a nice guy, who's being pushed around for such a stupid reason. As i heard he has to move now with a pregnant wife...
And i don't remember the same outrage when Girgenssons was voted in either.

[Oaklandblue]

9,324 people so far have said Let John Scott Play:

https://www.change.org/p/gary-bettman-b ... -star-game

Pretty funny joke, hun? The only joke in this situation is the NHL.

Let him play.

[glen a richter]

You can't really believe that many people think John Scott is actually an all-star. We're talking about hockey fans, not Nascar fans. The vast majority understand that Scott is no all-star and voted him in to prove the flaws in fan voting. The NHL reacted by forcing him out of the game, but in turn flipped multiple players lives and families upside-down just to rectify a situation that never should have occurred in the first place. Fan voting, and fan voting alone, is responsible for this entire unfortunate situation. I feel bad for Scott, his family, and the families of all the other players who were involved in the trade.

[Kerfuffle]

What some forget is that Scott is a human being. Yes, he's a goon, but off the ice he could be a nice guy, who's being pushed around for such a stupid reason. As i heard he has to move now with a pregnant wife...
And i don't remember the same outrage when Girgenssons was voted in either.

He had to move cause he was a jerk and decided to attend the game. Had he done the right thing and graciously bow out the league would have granted him request and he would have stayed put.

[ecbm]

If anything Scott should feel ashamed - this was the equivalent of a bunch of high school kids voting the ugliest girl in school the Homecoming Queen.

By your logic-that ugly girl should feel ashamed? I really seriously hope you're not raising children.

The league did the right thing and buried him in the AHL. Now he can't go - good riddance.

Always great when the relatively powerful "bury" the relatively powerless. Especially if you don't like the guy. (Despite not actually knowing him at all.)

He was voted in by the rules...fair and square. He should be in Nashville and be the captain of his team because that is how the fans voted. Period.

Absolutely. I have a feeling that someone in this room probably has a hard time relating to the democratic process. Personally, I'd never enter a contract with such a person because their word is worthless as they'll just move the goalposts if they don't like how things turn out in the end.

If the NHL didn't want this kind of thing to happen, then they shouldn't have allowed fans to pick any NHL player to vote on. They should have provided a limited list of players. But they didn't do that.

This is the breathtaking part of it to me. I know that MLB anticipated this because they do just that-provide a short list of eligible players. So it's obviously not an unfathomable scenario. I thought that the NHL left the vote totally open-ended to encourage the fans to have fun with it: literally, vote for anyone! But no, actually, apparently it's just down the NHL being run by a bunch of dinosaurs who are completely unfamiliar with how the internet and sarcasm work. Unbelievable!

the league had every right to step in as the adult in the room and fix it.

Every dictator ever nods in agreement.

[ComradeT]

At this point NHL is probably thinking they should have just allowed Scott to be on the roster. Something could have been done to do that and at the same time still keep the ASG what it is - the trick contest. After all, ASG captaincy is just as much of a joke as anything else. Bring him out, let him skate a shift, laugh it off. I think that would result in much less egg on NHL's face than the current debacle.

On the other hand, any publicity is good publicity. I wonder what the ASG viewership will be this year vs years past given this scandalous development.

[cardsfan04]

What some forget is that Scott is a human being. Yes, he's a goon, but off the ice he could be a nice guy, who's being pushed around for such a stupid reason. As i heard he has to move now with a pregnant wife...
And i don't remember the same outrage when Girgenssons was voted in either.

He had to move cause he was a jerk and decided to attend the game. Had he done the right thing and graciously bow out the league would have granted him request and he would have stayed put.

How does wanting to take part in the ASG after fans voted him in make him a jerk? He didn't ask for fans to do this, but they did. I don't blame him one bit for wanting to take part in the game. I would have done the exact same thing.

If the NHL didn't want him voted into the game, they shouldn't have put him on the ballot. The game doesn't mean anything, so I don't even understand why the NHL even cares.

[cardsfan04]

Also, while I wasn't part of the John Scott voting movement, once it happened, I was kinda looking forward to seeing him play. He's not the skill player that typically gets into the game, but I was looking forward to seeing it. I thought it was going to be a fun dynamic to the game that you don't see very often.

[abc789987]

He gets to play!

John Scott will captain Pacific Division All-Stars

NEW YORK – John Scott will captain the Pacific Division team at the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Nashville, the National Hockey League announced today.

Scott, elected to the Pacific Division captaincy in fan voting while a member of the Arizona Coyotes, was traded Friday to the Montreal Canadiens of the Atlantic Division. The resultant change in division, and Scott’s subsequent assignment to the American Hockey League, created a unique circumstance that required review – the result of which was a determination to maintain the status quo for the All-Star weekend in order to preserve all parties' pre-existing expectations, including Scott’s desire to participate.

"I am looking forward to enjoying a fun and unique experience at All-Star Weekend in Nashville with my family," said Scott. "While being voted to the All-Star Game by the fans was not something I expected to happen, I am excited to participate in the All-Star events with my fellow players."

[Kerfuffle]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

[cardsfan04]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

Did they screw up though? All players are on MLB ASG ballots. Why is it a problem if fans choose to vote for somebody unexpected? What actual harm is caused by it?

[theohall]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

Did they screw up though? All players are on MLB ASG ballots. Why is it a problem if fans choose to vote for somebody unexpected? What actual harm is caused by it?

Especially if the game is completely meaningless, as in the NHL's case. It's "for the fans". Well, the fans voted for something unexpected, just like with the Buffalo defenseman last season, and are getting what they voted for.

[Kerfuffle]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

Did they screw up though? All players are on MLB ASG ballots. Why is it a problem if fans choose to vote for somebody unexpected? What actual harm is caused by it?

Here's the problem:
1) it takes away a roster spot at the All-Star game for someone else who should be there.
2) the harm caused is that it makes the NHL look bad for allowing this to happen and not putting rules in place to prevent it. It demeans the whole event and becomes a running joke.
3) think of the precedent that is now set for next year if no rules are put in place. What's to stop someone from nominating themselves and getting it to go viral. Suddenly you see Joe Schmoe captaining the central and stepping out on skates for the first time and weighing 400 pounds. You have to have some rules and restrictions to prevent this from recurring again.

[glen a richter]

Point 1 and 2 are valid, but point 3 is a bit ludicrous. I don't think the NHL would allow non-players to be voted in.

I should say that I feel bad for Scott. He was the butt of a fan driven joke and doesn't seem to realize it, number one, and number two I've already said that his life and the lives of the other players involved had to be turned upside down.

Perhaps they can have a goon-game before the real all-stars. Fans vote in their top 5 goons from each conference and they have at it on open ice without goalies and see what transpires.

[goon attack]

What do you mean he doesn't realize it? Who the f*** wouldn't realize it? If you seriously don't think he knows it was a joke, you're probably high on PCP.

He's throwing it back at them... like, "Yeah, kick ass! You voted me in. I am honored."

He'll never get this chance again. he's taking it regardless of how he got there.

[cardsfan04]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

Did they screw up though? All players are on MLB ASG ballots. Why is it a problem if fans choose to vote for somebody unexpected? What actual harm is caused by it?

Here's the problem:
1) it takes away a roster spot at the All-Star game for someone else who should be there.
2) the harm caused is that it makes the NHL look bad for allowing this to happen and not putting rules in place to prevent it. It demeans the whole event and becomes a running joke.
3) think of the precedent that is now set for next year if no rules are put in place. What's to stop someone from nominating themselves and getting it to go viral. Suddenly you see Joe Schmoe captaining the central and stepping out on skates for the first time and weighing 400 pounds. You have to have some rules and restrictions to prevent this from recurring again.

1) I don't know how to define "should" in this context. It's a meaningless game for nothing but fun. It's supposed to entertain the fans. Who "should" be there is who the fans want there. I know the counter to this is that Scott isn't actually who fans wanted, but I'm pretty adamantly opposed to any conclusion that who that fans want there is anybody other than who they voted in even in an odd situation like this. It's a slippery slope to interpret fan voting by anybody other than who got the most votes.

2) The only reason the NHL looks bad is that they intervened at all (assuming they were involved in John Scott being traded and demoted to the AHL, which is kinda conspiracy-ish and not necessarily true)

3) This is a pretty weak and unrealistic hypothetical. Nobody is suggesting the ballot should be without restrictions. The main argument for Scott playing is that he was reasonably included on the ballot and he was voted in. You're taking it to an unrealistic extreme with this example.

[glen a richter]

If he realized it was a joke, he wouldn't be attending. I think he might have taken one too many shots to the head in his goon role though.

[theohall]

The NHL caved. Watch the process change for next year - no way they allow this debacle to be possible again. Someone screwed up big time by saying 'vote for anyone' with no criteria attached.

Did they screw up though? All players are on MLB ASG ballots. Why is it a problem if fans choose to vote for somebody unexpected? What actual harm is caused by it?

Here's the problem:
1) it takes away a roster spot at the All-Star game for someone else who should be there.
2) the harm caused is that it makes the NHL look bad for allowing this to happen and not putting rules in place to prevent it. It demeans the whole event and becomes a running joke.
3) think of the precedent that is now set for next year if no rules are put in place. What's to stop someone from nominating themselves and getting it to go viral. Suddenly you see Joe Schmoe captaining the central and stepping out on skates for the first time and weighing 400 pounds. You have to have some rules and restrictions to prevent this from recurring again.

Invalid point #1. Who should be there was determined by fan vote. If the fans voted for Scott, he deserves to be there. The whole "taking away a spot" in a meaningless game is pointless.

[theohall]

If he realized it was a joke, he wouldn't be attending. I think he might have taken one too many shots to the head in his goon role though.

He realized he could win part of a share of $1M.

[goon attack]

If he realized it was a joke, he wouldn't be attending. I think he might have taken one too many shots to the head in his goon role though.

Of course he realizes it's a joke. The whole internet is talking about how it's a joke.

Or is he the one person on earth who doesn't read the internet?

He knew it was a joke from the beginning. If he didn't, he's be the dumbest person on earth.