NHL All-Star Teams Now Picked by Captains

The NHL has shown itself to be fairly quick in reacting to public demand about changes that should be implemented to the sport. They need to be too, since they are desperately clamoring to regain status as a major American sport as opposed to a niche with its roots largely in Canada and Europe.

The latest twist that the NHL is providing is a great one, they have decided that the All-Star teams will be picked by two captains. This is opposed to the traditional format where one conference plays the other conference, or the alternative format that the NHL has trotted out in the past, matching North Americans vs. Europeans.

The possibilities are endless here, and it's going to make the NHL All-Star game a real, can't-miss event. First of all, you have to think about the All Stars that are going to be picked last by the squads. Which players do the other players feel are the least valuable, even when comparing entirely top-flight players?

Another, even more intriguing prospect though, is the whole factor of team unity and NHL rivalries. In no other American sporting league are the rivalries as deep and intense as they are in the NHL. Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett might hate the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, but at the NBA All-Star game, they'll largely be chumming it up with Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

On the other hand, if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are the two team captains - and that would only make the most marketing sense, although Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks might get one of the nods - there's not much chance that Crosby picks, say, Mike Green of the Washington Capitals, or that Alex Ovechkin skates up with Evgeni Malkin. NHL rivalries showcase general hatred, and while All-Star games are largely devoid of violence and team interests, picking teams could engender some of that intensity.

Instead of team rivalries and loyalties, will the players side with their recent Olympics teammates instead? Toews and Crosby and a host of other All-Stars just won Olympic Gold with team Canada, and might want to play with a Canada-redux in the All-Star game. Meanwhile, team USA has a host of players who will be at the All-Star game, as do the Finnish, Russian and Swedish teams, for example.

However it plays out, the new NHL All-Star game format of captains picking teams is a fantastic move, and it makes the game something that hardcore and casual fans alike will have to tune in to see. The NBA, NFL and MLB should all take notice, and come up with their own new innovations to inject some much needed life into the stale All-Star game format.