The 2016 NHL All Star game is in a new format, which we've covered here, and here, and the AHL has copied it with some adjustments, covered here.
Even with the changes made to the game, the NHL can't leave out the best/worst part of the whole experience: FAN VOTING!
By best I mean we get things like Project Mayhem and Vote for Rory. By worst I mean we end up with starting line ups full of the host teams players, Montreal.
With four teams in this years new 3 on 3 tournament, based on the divisions, how would fan voting go? Well, it's become a lot less important.
Still a great marketing tool, and another chance for some of that sweet sponsorship money, the NHL's 2016 All Star Fan Vote will comprise of fans voting for the Captains of each team. You will get to vote for one player from each division to serve as captain for each team. The NHL will select the rest, so it's safe to say they aren't removing the "each team gets one player in the game" rule. Each vote is also a ballot to win a trip to the All-Star game, so, hey, a free trip, is a free trip*.
The NHL will have added a whole bunch of new stuff to the voting table: videos, stats, doodads, stuff, and things. However the most important part of all of these changes lies in one question:
How can we screw with this?
Do we vote all goalies as captain, breaking the NHL's captain rule? Do we vote for players from the least represented countries in the NHL (Lars Eller - Denmark)? Do we all vote in the players who have been scratched the most (Captain Corrado!)? So many options!
Voting starts at 12:00PM Eastern today. Get your clicking fingers ready, we're going trolling.
*It's not free, you'll have to pay taxes, taxis, food, drinks, airline fees, and many, many other things.