The NHL All-Star event is a marquee weekend for the league, with the expectations that players have fun and put on a show, but for one player this past weekend, that certainly didn't happen.
Nikita Kucherov faces major backlash
During the skills competition, Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov displayed an embarrassing level of effort, and now, according to Elliotte Friedman, it could cost him.
Pretty interesting snippet from Elliotte Friedman on the «32 Thoughts» podcast. 🎙️
A source approached Friedman and believed #Lightning F Nikita Kucherov's lack of effort in the All-Star Skills Competition should cost him the Hart Trophy, despite putting up an elite regular season thus far.
The only reason I feel the need to throw this post out is that if Friedman feels the need to mention it, it's likely a higher-up in the #NHL, or potentially even someone who gets a vote when it comes to player awards.
A source approached Friedman and believed #Lightning F Nikita Kucherov's lack of effort in the All-Star Skills Competition should cost him the Hart Trophy, despite putting up an elite regular season thus far.
The only reason I feel the need to throw this post out is that if Friedman feels the need to mention it, it's likely a higher-up in the #NHL, or potentially even someone who gets a vote when it comes to player awards.
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Will this effort cost Kucherov the Hart Trophy?
While this may have just been an off-hand comment made to Elliotte Friedman, the fact that this was brought up on his podcast may give the anonymous source some merit.
Ultimately, it appears as though Nathan MacKinnon is the front runner for the Hart Trophy at this point, but if he falls off and Kucherov becomes the favourite, this could certainly been an interesting conversation that the NHL may need to have.
| POLL | ||
5 FEVRIER | 1102 ANSWERS MAJOR: Elliotte Friedman Drops a Bombshell on the Serious Consequence Nikita Kucherov Could Face Should All-Star effort have anything to do with end of season awards? | ||
| Yes | 393 | 35.7 % |
| No | 709 | 64.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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