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Amazingly, one of the biggest stories that came out of the All-Star Game was about the players who weren't there. Everything else was over-shadowed by the one-game suspensions of Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom. Neither player will participate in their team's game tonight against Columbus, leaving them with only 17 skaters on the roster.I can't remember the last time that a one-game ban created this much of a ruckus. All over the hockey world people are weighing in and, at least out of Detroit, anger is the general feeling. Those notions are simply ludicrous and false.
Sidney Crosby was also skipping the All-Star Game due to "injury" but, when he got wind of the suspensions, high-tailed it to Montreal. Of course, it's unfortunate that given the same opportunity Datsyuk and Lidstrom were not able to catch a last minute flight themselves and escape Gary Bettman's wrath.
Let's take a deep breath and look at a couple of the facts.
The league has made it clear that it does not like All-Star starters skipping out on the festivities, even if they still stay out of the game. It's like skipping a regular game but attending the post-game interviews or a scheduled post-game autograph signing. Should this really be treated any differently than if Lidstrom and Datsyuk had skipped out on their own team? Of course, in this case their team was OK with it. But in this case, their team is not the final word nor the ones conducting the event.
Another odd policy of the league -- that they also like to keep under wraps -- is that every team has to be represented at the All-Star Game. It's not stated publicly but by looking at the rosters each year the league's intentions are clear. Once Datsyuk and Lidstrom declared themselves out, there's no doubt in my mind that there were other Red Wings asked to participate, but none chose to. Whether it was the players or the organization behind that is unclear. However, expecting the league to go along with one of it's signature events without any players from a team that is A) the defending Stanley Cup Champions and B) currently third in the league standings is absurd.
Sometimes, you get what you give. And when the Wings did no favors for a league still trying to distance itself from the lockout, the league decided to not do the Wings any favors.
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