All-Star Game: Elliotte Friedman believes the draft formula will return

In the early 2010s, the NHL introduced a rather interesting new formula to try and spice up the All-Star Game; rather than holding an East vs. West duel, they instead implemented a draft formula where two captains drafted their team.

It was a nice formula… but obviously, the NHL didn’t like Alex Ovechkin “mocking” the process by doing everything in his power to be drafted last. Remember, the last pick in the draft won a car, and Ovechkin wanted it.

That said, the league seems to have a lot of trouble with the concept of “fun” (which is even more absurd in an All-Star Game, where the guys are there to have fun), so the format was changed for the following season.

I don’t know about you, but the current 3-on-3 format with four divisions doesn’t appeal to me.

But it seems there’s hope for a wind of change: according to Elliotte Friedman, the draft formula should be back for the next All-Star Game. That’s what he said on today’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

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The league is still in the process of finalizing the format (remember, the whole thing will take place in Toronto on February 3), but we can expect a few changes to the formula already in use. In fact, according to Friedman, the league wants to avoid another “Ovechkin-like” situation, so it’s juggling a few concepts.

Jeff Marek is quite disappointed when Friedman explains that the league doesn’t want to go through that again, and I agree with him. This league has been shooting itself in the foot for years in terms of marketing: everyone remembers the “Ovechkin situation”, but without looking, I get the impression that very few people remember who won the All-Star Game last year. It was the Atlantic, for those who don’t remember.

Friedman also notes that the league is considering the idea of adding a third day to the All-Star Game festivities. Would the Game be held over two days? Would the draft be held on the same weekend (in the NBA, this was done a few weeks before the game before the format change this year), adding an interesting element to the weekend itself?

We’ll see exactly what formula the NHL adopts, but I’m glad to see that the draft seems to be back this year. Maybe it’ll add a little spice to a format that’s been very, very ordinary for the past few years.

Breaking news

– Cole Caufield and the CH have arrived in Anaheim.

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– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 21, 2023

– What a season he’s having.

– Sad news.