Last January, the Globe & Mail reported that Sidney Crosby was considering a no-show at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game to protest the league’s player safety policies. The report was denied, the controversy raged and, in the end, Crosby’s concussion kept him out of the festivities in Raleigh.
One year later, it’s Alexander Ovechkin’s turn to dabble in the politics of the midseason classic snub.
The Washington Capitals and their captain announced that he’ll skip the 2012 All-Star Game in Ottawa after being suspended three games by the NHL on Monday for a “launching head shot” on Zybnek Michalek of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
GM George McPhee said Ovechkin didn’t want to be a “distraction” during the All-Star game weekend.
Full story: Alex Ovechkin pulls out of NHL All-Star game: ‘I got suspended, so why I have to go there?’