Of course, money mattered even to well-paid professional athletes.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a million dollars on the table,” the Colorado Avalanche defenseman said. Cale Makar said. “When you can reach out and grab it, you want to put in the effort.”
But the format mattered more.
In the past, each player involved in All-Star Weekend typically appeared in a single event. The rest of the time he sat and watched. What was nice was that all NHL markets were represented. The downside was that there was no narrative tying everything together, and fans only got a glimpse of the best of the best.
This time, not all NHL markets were represented, but fans were able to see 12 of the NHL’s brightest stars. Each skater competed in four of the first six events. The top eight moved on to the seventh event. The top six moved on to the final round. The drama continued throughout the evening and McDavid didn’t clinch the victory until the very end.
“I mean, especially when you finish the last two events, you kind of see where you are in the rankings,” the Toronto Maple Leafs center said. Auston Matthews said. “It definitely adds a little extra motivation to try to sneak into the (seventh and eighth rounds). Anything can happen, right?
“I thought it was cool. This is the first year we’ve done this. It’s never going to be perfect, but I think it’s a good foundation for the future to continue to have competitions. skills like this that are competitive and fun for everyone.
It was a real test. It was hard ?
The first four players eliminated were the Oilers forward Leon DraisaitlVancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn HughesTampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Koucherov and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak.
Draisaitl and Kucherov each won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion and were voted winners of the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. Pastrnak won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring champion.
Kucherov leads the NHL in scoring this season with 85 points (32 goals, 53 assists) in 49 games. Pastrnak is third with 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games. Hughes leads NHL defensemen with 62 points (12 goals, 50 assists) in 49 games.
“It was really fun, probably better than what they’ve done in the past,” Hughes said. “Just challenging yourself and being able to do some of these things, especially with the 12 guys that were there, it’s pretty cool.”
The next two players eliminated were Avalanche forward Nathan Mackinnon and the Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. MacKinnon, a three-time Hart Trophy finalist, is second in the NHL with 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) in 49 games. Pettersson is eighth with 64 points (27 goals, 37 assists) in 49 games.
McDavid earned 25 points in the standings by winning four events. He won five each for Fastenal’s Fastest Skater, Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling and Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting, and he won 10 for the Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course, worth double the final. But even he got no points in two events – the Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge and the Honda/Hyundai NHL Showdown – for failing to finish in the top five.
Avalanche Warden Alexander Georgiev won $100,000 for making the most saves among the eight goalies in the head-to-head matchup, and he faced McDavid.
“I think it was pretty diverse,” Georgiev said. “There were a lot of different skills. You have to be a really complete player, I guess, to win it all. It was funny to watch.”
