Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Alex Ovechkin Should Not Be Suspended For Missing The All-Star Weekend

01/04/2019 at 8:27am EST

from Christine Brennan of USA TODAY,

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin is being suspended by the NHL for one game for what amounts to being really smart.

At the wise old hockey age of 33, Ovechkin is skipping a meaningless exhibition – the league’s All-Star Game – to save himself for the rest of the season and presumably the playoffs, where the Capitals will be trying to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin should be hailed for this decision, not punished for it. He’s missing the pomp and circumstance of the All-Star Game to help ensure his availability for the most important portion of the NHL season, the playoffs. If college football stars not playing in bowl games, which still count towards a team’s record, has become acceptable, then a player like Ovechkin reasonably missing an exhibition game so he can be available to his team for the rest of the season should be too.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works in the NHL.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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