Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Did Ovechkin Need to Pull Out of the All-Star Game?

Alex Ovechkin received a three-game suspension against the Penguins a few nights ago. Today, he took it to the extreme when he announced that he will not be present for the All-Star Game on January 29th.


He said, "My heart is not there. I got suspended, so why (do) I have to go there?"

The Capitals general manager George McPhee supported Ovechkin's decision to back out of the All-Star Game.

"He really doesn't feel like he deserves to be there and doesn't want to be a distraction," McPhee told ESPN.com earlier today. "When he came in this morning, he said, 'I'm a suspended player and I don't deserve to be there.'"

Excuse me, but there are several problems with Ovechkin not being there and I'll just give you a few right here. 1) He's the biggest star in the league. 2) He puts his team on his back when they are down and 3) He is one of the reasons people watch the All-Star Game.

So I'm sorry, but I don't support this decision. It looks dumb and it sounds dumb. You need to be out there in the All-Star Game and playing. I don't agree with the NHL either on why they won't give Ovechkin a suspension for not participating. Back in 2009, Red Wings players Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk were suspended one game for not participating in the All-Star Game. This time, they chose not to go on with this matter.

They should tack on another suspension. Add a couple games in his suspension or at least fine him a whole lot of money. I don't like why players keep trying to get out of the All-Star Game. One of the main reasons people watch this game is so they can watch their favorite players and favorite all-stars perform on the ice. Is this Ovechkin's way of saying "You did something to me, I'm going to do something back to you?" Is this what this is about? This sounds really dumb and Ovechkin knows he is a big star in the league and that if you miss the All-Star Game, you are letting a lot of your fans down. That's what he's not getting at and I hope that he learns this down the road.

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