I Guess The NHL Really Facilitated A John Scott Trade Just To Strongarm Him Out Of The All Star Game

John Scott was previously asked by both NHL and Arizona Coyotes to bow out of NHL All-Star Game. He refused. Trade likely takes care of that

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 15, 2016

At this point, even if Scott isn't deemed ineligible by NHL, he would almost certainly bow out of ASG on his own.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 15, 2016

Rant Sports- Ever since it was announced that Arizona Coyotes left-winger John Scott was voted by the fans to be a captain in the All-Star Game, the NHL has been up in arms about it. They feel like it makes a joke of their league that a guy who’s been waived three times already in 2015-16 would be a captain in the league’s showcase game.

On Friday, it was announced that Scott had been traded to the Montreal Canadiens, along with defenseman Victor Bartley, in a three-team deal that sent defenseman Stefan Elliott to the Nashville Predators and defenseman Jarred Tinordi and minor league forward Stefan Fournier back to the Coyotes. While the Coyotes claim that this trade was made to better their team, TSN’s Bob McKenzie believes the league had something to do with the trade to get Scott out of the All-Star Game.



Let's just get this out of the way, Stan Kroenke is receiving more shits in the mail this week than the amount I give about the NHL All Star Game. I was mildly content to find out that Cory Schneider got the nod, because it's all he really has to show for what has been a year and a half of all world goaltending. Other than that, I am frustrated that I even have to write about it, because I barely have any interest in watching it.

With that said, I understand why the players care. It should be an honor to get recognized as one of the best players in your sport, and the fan vote of John Scott jeopardized that. That falls on the shoulders of the NHL, and the NHL only. It's not the fans fault for getting a laugh at their expense. It's not John Scott's fault for wanting to take part in something that would likely be the highlight of subpar career. It's the NHL's fault for giving dumb people a say in a decision that apparently they value pretty highly. 

When I first saw the headline I was hesitant to call it a conspiracy, but the more I read the more it became the only thing that made any logical sense whatsoever. A team trading for a player that has bounced in and out of the AHL all year? In the middle of the season? While he currently holds an undeserved spot as a captain in the All Star game? That he stood to lose by getting traded? The NHL did have a hand in this move, and they should be fucking ashamed of themselves for doing so.

Now, I know that John Scott quite obviously doesn't belong in the All Star Game. I know that - by getting traded from Arizona to Montreal - he is getting sent to a far superior hockey city. He doesn't need me to shed tears for him. Still, do you know what is infinitely more respectable than arranging for a player, his family, and his mediocre career to be unceremoniously uprooted just to correct a mild injustice that you made possible? Stop making it possible, or to be more clear, STOP LETTING FUCKING FANS VOTE. Fans are MORONS. They don't deserve a vote. Judging by the opinions I hear at games there's only a small percentage that deserve to live. You instituted the philosophy of letting idiots make decisions you deem important, and you should have to live with the results. It's a far worse look to get caught pulling the strings on a man's livliehood than it is to let him play in a complete gimmick of a game that is virtually meaningless.