Depending on your point of view, the NHL All Star Game either did very well or very poorly last night.
The game averaged a 0.8 preliminary rating on Versus, up 60% from 0.5 in 2007. Amazingly, the game drew a 0.3 in host city Atlanta, down 63% from the national average. The game is on pace to be the second-lowest rated All Star Game since at least 1991, though it should be pointed out that previous All Star Games aired on broadcast, as opposed to cable.
With the All Star Game attracting little national attention, and — like most All Star Games — serving as a bit of a waste of time, league officials are apparently considering putting the event on “permanent hiatus“; the Winnipeg Sun reports “there are proponents of [canceling the All Star Game altogether] at NHL headquarters.”
Such a move would make the NHL the only major team sport without an All Star Game.
Some believe the Saturday night festivities, including the Skills Competition, should be canceled, as opposed to the game itself. An anonymous league executive quoted by the Winnipeg Sun said he has not “heard any positive comments about the skills competition at all. … The players think it’s painful, the changes to the competition didn’t work and, quite frankly, the players are bored with the whole thing.”
