COLUMBUS, Ohio — With Thursday night's announcement that Sidney Crosby was pulling out of the NHL All-Star weekend with a lower-body injury, the league's marquee promotional event that's already short on stars took yet another hit.
Evgeni Malkin also withdrew because of injury, while Pekka Rinne, Jimmy Howard, Sergei Bobrovsky and Erik Johnson were all in varying degrees of poor health and chose not to attend.
That doesn't include other genuine stars—P.K. Subban, Nicklas Backstrom and Erik Karlsson, for example—who aren't here either as casualties of the league's silly need to take one player from every team, organizations quietly telling the league they don't want their players taken or players not wanting to be here.
Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf doesn't have all that much sympathy for players in Crosby's situation.
"I think it's important that we're here," Getzlaf said. "As much as some guys need the break and stuff, it is important that you be here. This is a big event for the league that you want to have all the superstars. And at the same time, your loyalties lie with your hockey t ...
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Article written by Dave Lozo
Injuries, Bad Decisions Leave NHL All-Star Game Sorely Lacking Stars
January 23rd, 2015 by Dave Lozo Leave a reply »
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