Crosby's case for Selke and other All-Star weekend takeaways

SAN JOSE - At its core, the NHL's All-Star weekend is designed to remind.

It reminds us that hockey is a sport worth celebrating and that there's nobody better to celebrate with than thousands of young fans. It reminds us that the players in attendance - oftentimes cliche-spouting robots - are actually human. In vacation mode at the midseason showcase, their guards are down. The result: tales of cheetah bites, videos of former teammates riding scooters, and revelations of totally-unrelatable-slash-awesome bets.

Brian Babineau / Getty Images

And this year, although not by design, per se, the weekend also reminded us of the brilliance of Sidney Crosby, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Blake Wheeler, and Brent Burns. The old dudes - which in the modern NHL includes anybody 30-plus - might count as the minority group nowadays, having already handed over the keys to millennials and Generation Z'ers. But they're still kicking.

Especially Crosby, whose eight points in two three-on-three games earned him MVP honors in the main event. He reminded us that, hey, this 31-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner, currently overshadowed by Connor McDavid's generational talent, is building a case for yet another piece of hardware. There's no defending during All-Star weekend, yet Crosby's mere presence brought the Selke Trophy debate to the forefront.

Adding a Selke to his robust award collection - two Harts, two Rocket Richards, two Conn Smythes, two Art Rosses, three Lester B. Pearsons/Ted Lindsays - is not beyond the realm of possibility for Crosby. The #Sid4Selke campaign is officially underway.

"I'd like to be in the conversation, for sure," Crosby said of the annual honor for the league's top defensive forward. "I mean, I think your play has to earn that. Anyone can say that, but I think I definitely want to be known as a player who's responsible defensively. I want to be good offensively, but do it the right way. And I think for the most part this year that's been the case."

A lengthy breakdown of Selke candidates is a task for another day (spoiler: the list would include usual suspects Aleksander Barkov and Patrice Bergeron). In the meantime, here's a quick snapshot of Crosby's 2018-19 season through 48 games:

In his 700-plus minutes at 5-on-5, the Penguins have owned 70 percent of the goals, 58 percent of the scoring chances, and 56 percent of the shot attempts, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. In all situations, he's won 52 percent of his faceoffs and is a plus-four in penalty differential. All this while producing 57 points in 20:42 of ice time a night.

In passing, that sounds Selke-worthy.

Tension following Oilers everywhere

On one hand, the All-Star break couldn't have come at a better time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Less than a week after polarizing general manager Peter Chiarelli received his pink slip, the Oilers' best players escaped the Edmonton bubble for a few days with the team now on its bye week.

On the other hand, the timing of Chiarelli's dismissal wasn't ideal for Edmonton's stars, given all the media responsibilities and public appearances associated with the All-Star festivities. Though questions tended to focus on levity, there was no avoiding the debacle back home.

"It is what it is," Draisaitl told theScore following the Pacific Division's elimination from Saturday's three-on-three tournament. "We're responsible for what's going on there, no one else. We've got to find ways to win hockey games. That's all we have to do."

Dave Sandford / Getty Images

McDavid - who rarely cracks a smile when the cameras are on, regardless of circumstance or his team's performance - squirmed in his seat during media day. "Oh. My God," he said Thursday as Edmonton-related questions eased into lighter topics. "I was gonna get off the seat, it was so hot. I love the three-on-three."

The Oilers are off until Feb. 2, when they visit Philadelphia to face the Flyers and begin a stretch of five games in eight days. Based on the jammed-up Western Conference standings, the season could quickly get away from Edmonton if it stumbles in the early going of the post-break schedule. But nothing's been decided yet.

"We're three points out of a playoff spot," McDavid noted a day before winning the Fastest Skater competition. "I think that gets lost. I think that really is lost. We're going through a lot of different changes, but we're three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs."

Players not caught up in tracking buzz

It turns out the league's new toy, the player and puck tracking system unveiled over the weekend, isn't at the forefront of players' thoughts.

Asked about the pros and cons of the investment in microchip technology, with a full rollout scheduled for the 2019-20 season, many All-Stars shrugged. Others admitted they were simply uneducated on the topic of tracking in general. The players' reactions are slightly surprising, considering it's their on-ice data being collected and shared with the world.

"To be completely honest, I haven't done much homework on the whole concept," Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. "I was around when ESPN or FOX used to do the puck tracker (in the 1990s), back when we had standard-definition TV and no one could see the puck. I think we've come a long way from that."

Len Redkoles / Getty Images

Like most of his peers, Stamkos sees the benefits of tracking from a fan engagement perspective and as a tool for broadcasters and media. But he added, "We don't know exactly how that information is going to be used yet." (The NHL and NHLPA have agreed that tracking data will be exempt from the contract negotiation process, including arbitration hearings, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly.)

Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle admitted not knowing a single thing about the matter. Even some of the game's most studious competitors, like Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues' Ryan O'Reilly, aren't jumping for joy. Despite the buzz, tracking seems very blah for players.

"I'm not a big fan of it," O'Reilly said. "As a player, there's so much feel involved in the game " there's certain reads you have that I don't think a device can assess. That's one of the things I love about the sport."

NBC incorporated tracking data into its broadcast for the three-on-three tournament. From the bench, Scheifele thought it looked too busy and drew attention away from the on-ice action.

"If I'm going to watch a game I like it to all be gone," he said of the name tags, zone time, skating speed, and other advanced stats. "Just because I'd rather see everything that's going on in (the game itself). When you start showing a bunch of random stats it might trick the eyes a little bit."

#HiTechHockey pic.twitter.com/PlrOrabErt

- NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 26, 2019

All-Star weekend brings out the best

To close the book on the weekend, here are 10 bests:

1. Best quote - Kendall Coyne Schofield on making history in the Fastest Skater event

"I would say, especially to young girls and to women, follow your dreams and believe in yourselves and there is nothing you can't accomplish. I think tonight was an example of that."

2. Best mess - Prize allocation following passing challenge

After challenging Draisaitl for the best time in the Premier Passer skills event, Brianna Decker ended up getting her prize - $25,000 from CCM and another $25K from the NHL earmarked for charity. But the process by which she received it (#PayDecker) was a little awkward. Social media took the NHL to task for a few hours there.

Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images

3. Best impression - King Henrik, of course

Lundqvist charms 'em all. As Yandle noted during a Saturday Q&A with fans at the All-Star fan festival, the Rangers netminder is seemingly perfect. An excellent puck-stopper, a musician, handsome as hell, and super nice. "When you look at him you think maybe he's a jerk," Yandle joked. Yet he's not.

4. Best projectile - Something fishy from the upper deck

Predators fans travel well. Case in point, the catfish that thumped onto the ice after Nashville captain Roman Josi netted a three-on-three goal.

Someone just threw a catfish on the ice at #NHLAllStar when Josi scored. #preds

- Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 27, 2019

5. Best throwback - Vancouver trip an eye-opener for Californian hockey

Striking up a conversation over morning coffee, a middle-aged Sharks fan from Sacramento, Calif., said he remembers going to Vancouver for a minor hockey tournament as a kid and being blown away by one particular thing. After he and his teammates showed up for their game and were unable to find their dressing room, someone told them they were in the wrong rink. They all stared at each other with puzzled looks and thought, 'There's another rink in Vancouver?!' Oh, how the times have changed for hockey in California, now home to three NHL teams, a handful of NHL players, and dozens of local arenas.

6. Best superstition - O'Reilly on the craziest ritual he's witnessed

"I remember a guy I played with at the international level ... every door he walked through he had to touch the left, the top and the right side of it. I remember watching and thinking that's got to be exhausting. Every door."

7. Best jersey - No. 36, Atlanta Thrashers

Spotted outside the SAP Center on Saturday afternoon among a sea of McDavids, Karlssons, and Crosbys: An Eric Boulton jersey. How incredibly random.

Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images

8. Best stamina - Gritty never stops

The orange muppet of your nightmares is the meme that keeps on giving. Gritty was omnipresent in Silicon Valley; the wobbling bundle of energy was the subject of countless selfies and a star in the mascot hockey game.

9. Best imitation - NFL influences NHL

Upon entry to Thursday's main media availability, fans received a headset so they could listen to players' answers at their respective podiums. An idea borrowed from Super Bowl media day, it seemed to be a hit.

10. Best memory - Sharks fans don't forget

Among those booed mercilessly by the hometown crowd: John Tavares, for not signing with the Sharks as a free agent; divisional rivals John Gibson and Drew Doughty; and Crosby, whose Penguins won the 2016 Stanley Cup in San Jose.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

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